Welcome home

The flight home was out of the top drawer as Celia and I managed to get an entire section of the plane to ourselves as they needed us to sit in the emergency seats. We only needed two rows, but the extra space made us feel all that more important.

I know it's been discussed before over and over again, but I cannot stress how much I have to hold myself back from opening the aeroplane door mid flight. I'm not sure if I'm just concerned I will trip and accidentally open it, but I physically have to lean the opposite way when i am walking past it...

When we touched down at Heathrow we had Claudio and Jen Jen waiting for us at the airport whisking us away to the heart of Essex. I must say it is the first time i have been there as my travel card never got me to zone 16.

I held off the urge to succumb to my jet lag and went off with Claudio to buy some beer and bbq equipment for the braai they were throwing for us the next day. Driving through one of the dodgy areas of north east London we stumbled across some Greek, Cypriot shops where Claudio immediately had his eye on a Foukou(left). Now a Foukou is a traditional bbq made in Cyprus, and its purpose is to cook meat and fish on a kebab or "souvla" on coal.

I somehow think that Claudio knew where we were going and we never just 'stumbled' on those Greek / Cypriot shops.. Although we were stoked with what we had just bought, the woman were averagely pleased with our purchase.

I managed to put my new running shoes into action down the paths of Epping forest which in some sections looks a fairytale with the beauty of Fallow deer and Autumn leaves. All that was missing were Lucy, Peter, Edmund and Susan.

We had a ton on friends around that day to enjoy our Saffer / English bbq. About 3 kg's of wors on the Weber and even more souvla on Claudio's new foukou.

Charlie arrived in his 'I are wearing a jean pant' shirt providing much amusement, but unfortunately for him, more interest was taken in the kilo of biltong he brought along.

Our little braai went well on into the night while we tried our hardest to finish all the beers on offer while we sat around the log fire in the garden telling our 'round the world' campfire stories.

Last Day Blues

Well today we bode farewell to NY, our family there and our 8 months on the run from real life. It’s obviously a bit sad for us, not that any of you have any sympathy. It was 'Da Bomb'(just for Michael). The day was just as hectic as you can imagine with the two of us trying our utmost to shove all the junk inside our trunk, into our tiny suitcases we started this trip with. Now not only have our waistlines expanded in the last two months, but so have our suitcases as we have much more sheeaaat.

Celia's new running shoes sadly did not make it on board, neither did my dads present I bought him as it was forgotten on the train last night.. Let's pray for honest people and the lost 'n found section.

So I sit here now at the airport typing away on my new uber cool Sony Vaio laptop, while they announce that our flight had been delayed due to electrical problems. Refueling rig is apparently shot which does not instill much confidence. It's nice in a way though as I am pretty reluctant for this trip to end so the longer we get to stay on US soil, the happier I am.

Celia and I almost took our camping gear with us today because we had grown so attached to it. It has been over 3 months of camping in those snug sleeping bags, under the cozy comforter in many US state parks. We will have to get another soon we can carry on our adventures back home.

Can't wait to see our friends in London though, go to Hillsong and see if life does actually go on without me...

Expansion

With a day to go, we were due another dinner and Flavio did not disappoint. Although the logical place would have been our all time favourite diner, but we stepped it up a notch and went to a great Teppanyaki place down the road instead. I think I have omitted my next insert in my previous posts, but only because it has become more relevant in recent weeks.

This actually brought about the title of this post, my waistline has been looking a little larger than usual with my mirror denial not really helping. It was the therapy that my denim jeans bring that really highlighted the issue as the pair of Levi's that were given to me by Tim in Singapore about 4 months back now need a bit of persuasion to close, and more than that at the end of of a good meal with a slight of hand a flick of the button bringing instant relief.

It was entertaining to watch this meal prepared and the chef pulled out all the stops, with his juggling and lobbing food into our mouths. Fortunately it tasted great too and by the end of the evening the button was released for that extra bit of comfort.

More flags, more fun

This is something I have not done in years, but i'll credit Michael with the brilliant idea. A bit of planning and we were off to Six flags amusement park. I had the chore of driving all the way to Jersey cause on Michaels 'little kids' drivers license, he cannot leave the state.

Now you can imagine the queues (or lines if you are American) at an amusement park in the school holidays, nevermind the fact it was passover, they are something out of my worst horror, and today did not dissapoint. We ditched the opportunity to buy our 'flash pass' tickets which would simply allow us to walk to the front of each ride queue simply out of lack of funding. This would see us only scream it out on 5 rides that day as the wait totalled an average of 45min a ride.

With rides named, Medusa, Nitro, Kingda ka, Batman and El Toro, there would be a fair amount of nausea and vocals over the duration of the day.

Now every ride there has some world record to its name. Kingda Ka (to the left) is the fastest at 128mph and tallest at 458ft roller coaster in the world. The ride is only 59 seconds, but I cannot even begin to explain how much of a thrill it is. I was freaking out every second and realised then how little I actually enjoy these things. The speed is not so much the issue. It's the falling out I am concerned about.

Celia managed to strain her neck as the she was turning back and talking to me when the ride started, as they count down from 10, but start at a random number which was ulimately her downfall.

She was out of the running for the rest of the day, but still joined Michael and I in the line for 'El Toro'. Now this ride features the steepest drop of any wooden roller coaster in the world at 76 deg. and was by far the most fun ride we went on all day. The top speed is only 70mph, but felt just as fast running over those rickety wooden tracks. The upside was the nausea experienced on Kingda ka did not show its ugly little head.

Celia did however join us on the ride as when we got to the front she found it too irresistable to watch us enjoy it without her. The photo we picked up from the automatic ride camera shows her screaming with pain, and she vowed to not go on another ride.

I will quicky add before I carry on that she did join us on Medusa (the world's forst floorless coaster), agonising neck pain and all, but this was to be here last as when Michael and I carried on to Batman and Nitro, Celia slipped off to see the more tame Dolphin show.

My highlight of the day was however none of the ridiculous rides we went on, but the wait in the line at Kingda Ka. Watching all the Jewish kids her on passover holidays lose their yarmulke's when the ride was upside down at top speed, was something out of Americas funniest home videos and had everyone (maybe only me) in stiches.

Times Square Church

Our last Sunday in the US and A and we had the opportunity to visit the renowned 'Times Square Church' which was phenomenal. We were fortunately enough to get a seat that was not in the rafters, with half the leg room of your average budget airline, so seating was tight to say the least. The choir however made up for it and the renditions of the songs we knew were a bit special.

The church location could not be more perfect. Right on Broadway, a stones throw from Times sq., and it makes your average Sunday in Manhattan a bit more exciting than a good bargain.

Good times

We were so lucky that we finally managed to catch up with Billy in NYC as we had missed the opportunity in Boston. His company had put him up in the Hyatt in a great suite which he invited Celia and I to share with him on one evening. We had a truly grand time with dinner at a phenomenal restarant and a few drinks, kindly all on the company. My only charge whould be the cab ride back to the hotel.

It's always a little strange for me to spend time with friends in a foreign place when you are so used to seeing them day in, day out at all your familiar haunts in London. It was the same when Billy was in SA for our wedding and now in NY (not for his) in his backyard.

He was in his element too, knew all the places, who to call and where to go. Good times! BTW, just found this picture of him onine. Wooooohoooowaaahaaaaahhaaaaaa. Waaaaaaaaahhhhahahahahahahahaha. God bless Google.

Still moseying around New York

With not an awful lot to to and only a few days to kill, day's were mostly spent watching the 60 inch plasma and drinking Flavio's Pepsi stash and home made biltong. after a few days of more than 100 channels of cable, you settle on your favourites, and then your favourites run out of shows, so it's mostly 'The Girl Next Door', Kardashians, and "The Deadliest Catch' reruns. I was going to add 'The Family Guy' to that list, but Peter Griffin does not get grouped with anyone.

We somehow managed to find time to rip ourselves off the couch and head into the city to do the Natural History Museum. Now I sadly never got to go to the one in London, I know, pathetic. I was only there for six years...

The museum was pretty good with the animal exhibition (mostly African) being my favourite by a long shot. I think it's maybe because looking at the dinosaur skeletons does not really invoke many emotions in me. Possibly the lack of imagination, which in itself is hard to believe with the amount of day dreaming I usually do.

I must say that the exhibition here was not dissimilar to the ones at Cabela's hunting stores around the US. The stuffed carnivores all set up in attack position ready to devour the defenceless prey in their path. Some of them are excellent, like you are stuck in a real life freeze frame, and if I had to show you some of the pictures I took you would thing I was somewhere in the African Savannah or the North American plains.

With all the game viewing we had there, there was sadly not enough time to go to the National Portrait Gallery which was Celia's pick for the day. I thick you might need a day for that on it's own if it is anything like the Louvre or the Smithsonian in Washington (you see how I've listed the only two art museums I've ever been to).

We managed to fit in a couple more walking hours in to the day and went for some great coffee and cakes at 'Le Pain Quotidien' just off central park as well as a world famous hot dog at "Gray's Papaya'. It was a good hot dog, but you understand what I mean when I say how different can you be from your competitor when you are selling a wiener in a roll.. Michael being the the only true American among us, assured me it was a great hot dog.

I did manage to spot the Chris Elliot who famously played Dom Woganowski in 'Theres something about Mary' adding to my celeb spotting total in America to a satisfying '2'.

Recalculating

Celia and I had to get back to 'Woodbury Commons' outlet mall to get some bargain shopping done so Flavio lent us his car for the day, but we had to come and pick him up from work. In true holiday style we only left the house just after lunch and after punching in the coordinates in our GPS we were on our way. All was going pretty peachy, and we had this GPS speaking to us in every accent available, but I started passing the same trees and seeing the same landmarks usually pre-empted by the Australian bird on the GPS saying "recaaalllculating". I dunno how it happened but the directions kept telling us to take the incorrect exit off the roundabout. It took me until the third time to ditch the GPS and ask for directions (wasn't happy about that) showing that you generally shouldn't listen to an Aussie woman giving you directions.

Back in the Big Apple

The drive back from Cape Cod was fine, I got arrogant and chose the coastal road this time, rather than sticking to Google Maps prescribed route which may be a touch quicker, but about as exciting as say, reading… I have stated my new stance on reading I'm sure.?

Well i'm telling you anyway.

I have decided reading a book is an utter waste of time as the world just passes you by as your nose is stuck in between printed paper. So the nine books (eight unread) I bought at a library sale (totaling about $4) somewhere in the California desert will have to waste somebody else's time rather than collect dust on the back seat of our Honda Accord.

This brings me to the next part of my day. We had to drop off our rental car, apart from being a major chore as it had to go all the way to JFK airport; it was a pretty sad moment as it was the first bit of finality of our trip and the last road trip we would take of our world tour. We had a bit of a moment with our car on the way to the airport and bode it farewell.

When I checked it in at the Hertz counter they tried, but couldn't just scan my rental agreement and wish me a good evening, they had to go in a and manually enter my details as the system would not accept the fact I had driven 8500 miles in just under sixty days. It made me realize what an epic journey we had just completed, and the emotions came yet again.

Well our last week in New York was reserved for shopping and maybe a visit to a museum or two. Fortunately for us Michael was on spring break and we had a driver when Flavio was unable to lend us his car. Celia finally got her ‘tan colored full length ‘ UGG boots which we had been searching for, umm... approximately a month now, no shops having the tan in her size. She was pretty thrilled when Michael and I got back from Palisades mall and wore them around the house the whole evening deciding then that actually she would prefer the chocolate colored ones in a smaller size. Can anyone else feel my pain?

Cape Cod touring

Ray took us on his best Cape Cod tour through the gusting wind and fine drizzle, and had I known we were going to be walking for an entire day, I would have dressed a bit warmer than the long sleeve t-shirt I was wearing. Ray was in fine form, posing at will for the most ridiculous photos taken in Massachusetts that day.

It was a pretty amazing tour though and Cape Cod has immense beauty ranging from the Cedar and Maple bogs to the endless beaches. Let's not forget the harbor at P-town and a bonus cherry on the top were the eight whales we saw at Race Point. I could hardly believe it, but from the beach we saw Humpback and Right whales feeding on plankton just a couple hundred meters off the beach. They had apparently been there for the entire weekend and were predicted to be there for a few more, so Celia and I decided there and then that we were going whale watching the next day.

Well things don't always work out as planned and that evening when we got back from touring Mike recommended we go snowboarding in New Hampshire the next day. It was a tough choice, boarding or whale watching. So 4AM the next day we were up and dressed to go whale watching, naaaat. We were going snowboarding and were kitted out thanks to Jane and Mike who had enough ski clothing and equipment to sort out the Jamaican bobsled team and their cheerleaders.

What a day we had up on Mount Sunapee, being up on the mountain is always ...umm well... invigorating in search of a better word. My boarding improved loads as Mike pushed me to increase my speed and to not be such a girl. Celia also loved the day and every time I saw her she was full of smiles and Ray was teaching her some new tricks on the skis in between racing Jane and me. Being on a snowboard I was always a bit slower, but by the end of the day I was right up there and Jane will admit I absolutely showed her a lesson in downhill racing, German style.

Had to remember Laurie who couldn't join us as she had to visit her dad down in Florida who sadly was terribly ill (would have taken her in a race too though).

Still can't believe how lucky we were to have a great day on the mountain in early spring with new friends (and old ones - Ray). Feeling excited just writing this now!!

On our way back home we had a short stop in Boston for an early dinner and an alternative to sitting in the traffic. After a days boarding i was thirstier than a baby in a topless bar so at the first sight of a Sam Adams, it was emptied, and my thirst was quenched.

We grabbed some seafood to go along with the beer. The Swordfush kebab grabbing my attention and Celia couldn't be stopped ordering the Maine lobster which, at the time of ordering did not register in her mind that they cook them on the spot. So when the chef took the unlucky fellow out the bucket and straight into the pot, the expression on her face was pretty priceless, worthy of a Mastercard advert.

Tuesday came and it was time to head back to the Big Apple. With some regret, we said goodbye to Little Ray, Big Ray, Kory, Jane and Mike, let's not forget Hudson. In true Dieter style I lead with my emotions, so goodbyes are as short as possible. I'm always so grateful for times like these spent with great people sharing fantastic moments and giving time out of their life. Jeesh… what was that, let's move on before I delete it.

Cape Cod

We left New York well rested and a few hours late after trying to sort out the car hire issue, but now we were on our way headed straight for Cape Cod, well as straight as Google Maps will allow us anyway. In hindsight we should have taken Flavio's GPS, but that would make me less of a man now wouldn't it.

Our drive took about an hour longer than we had wished for, but still arrived at Ray's house with some sunlight to spare and with a fantastic welcome. Ray's sister and his dog were there with a bottle of red to wash away the long drive. Laurie had also put together some fantastic quiche and cranberry bread so we were not to go hungry.

The wheels for that weekend were tonight set in motion as we went from bar to bar in Cape Cod. Not a remarkably big area, there is always a ‘happening' place a few miles away and a couple back road's home.

I somehow managed to plant a seed in Mike's head that we should go snowboarding in New Hampshire, he seemed pretty keen, and so we'll see how that pans out.

Ray couldn't possibly have let us stay at his house for free (????) so he had us working on the cranberry farm in the morning. He has built a greenhouse there to grow seedlings of various types of pretty flowers in the off season, when the cranberries don't require much work. So on this biting Cape Cod Saturday morning, Celia, Jane, Ray and Dieter (don't you hate it when people talk about themselves in the third person) got busy planting. It was definitely a case of many hands make light work as those few hundred seedlings were planted in no time, it wasn't even late enough to crack open the first cold one. We killed time by watching Ray's amazing greenhouse plumbing in action, which instead of watering the plants, just leaked a big puddle in the corner, nice!

The afternoon showers arrived, and that called for us to pack up, but not before I had negotiated the pathways through all the cranberry bogs on Ray's golf cart. Let me rephrase that, on Ray's working golf cart. He has behind his house a golf cart graveyard, ranging from the standard club car type to the more outrageous Harley Davidson golf cart. He keeps them there as he says he might need some spare parts sometime.

We had some great seafood that afternoon in a little village (don't ask me which – Hyannis maybe) and I got to try more of the local brew. So far I have been very loyal and stuck to my Sam Adams, but the Harpoon IPA I had that afternoon is not all that bad either. Celia ordered some ‘New England Steamers' or something to that effect which are these massive clams which have the texture of an Oyster and are not really my thing as the one I had went down with hooks and almost came straight back up. It seemed to have the same effect on Celia as she politely said she was not that hungry.

We had a fantastic BBQ at Mike and Jane's house that night with some of the tastiest sirloin I have ever eaten. Interestingly the topic came up as to why we have seen very few (I mean tens of) sheep in the US. It turns out that the cattle farmers completely took over and drove out all the sheep farmers. They don't know what they are missing.

The evening involved a trip to the Claddagh where Richard and Monika met, so really the visit was mandatory. They were currently experiencing some licensing issues so were not open, but they did manage to turn the kettle on and pour us a famous Claddagh coffee, which according to my taste buds, contains less than 10% coffee and the rest, according to Cathy, Frangelico, Kahlua and Whisky. A couple of those, and I needed the back roads. Fortunately Ray was driving and took us out to Sundancers where this U2 tribute band was playing and everyone was in fine form on the dance floor, so I joined them and managed to get a bite without even casting a line. I am a married man now so I just shook the hook loose and carried on dancing. It seems however, that I've still got it.

Philadelphia

Our drive through to Philadelphia was a long one, with narrow roads and many a wrong turn taken, we arrived quite a few hours after we wanted to so our tour was a whistle-stop one, we never even got out of the car! There was no time, so we drove right through taking in the sights, including the university, the skyline, and the very famous library. I never got the opportunity to run up the steps to the sound of the 'eye of the tiger' like the great Sly Stallone in the Rocky movies. Maybe it's better that we never stopped as I can only imagine how many sad tourists have pulled that stunt. I never wanted to be one of those statistics.

That only left us with the drive to Flavio's house to complete. It was pretty exciting as he never knew we were coming this week, we were meant to drive straight through to Massachusetts, but gave him a nice surprise as he was doing his gardening. We naturally had to go through to the diner down the road that evening with the entire family, overeating once again as is only possible in America.

It was fantastic to catch up, but our visit was a short one, as we had a drive to Cape Cod to look forward to in the morning.

Historic drive through Pennsylvania

Gettysburg is name most of you must have heard of. It is the location of Lincoln's famous address and a few months' prior to that, 'The Battle of Gettysburg'. This battle happens to be one of the major defining moments in the history of America and was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee's invasion of the North. Over fifty thousand men lost their lives in that battle which prompted the before mentioned famous Gettysburg Address. The monuments and statues erected on the battlefields as well as gravestones standing where the men lay all those years ago, are constant reminder of those times and make you realize you are somewhere really special.

I love my history, especially battle history, with the Anglo-Boer wars being some of the most remarkable in South African and British history. On occasion when we drive by these sites in South Africa, my family and I always stop and go through the motions to see what happened on those days that made our country what it is today. Celia thinks I'm a loser, but it makes me appreciate places like this in other countries where the same battles were fought over the same issues thousands of miles away.

We never planned on staying the night there as there were more unique American lives to see not too far away. I'm now talking about the Amish. These folk stay amongst themselves in the farmlands shunning technological advancements of today's world still bizarrely driving around in their horse drawn carriages (with tail lights) sporting their top hats and matching black waistcoats.

That night we found a great little motel to stay in as the only camping area we found was almost the same price… talk about racketeering. Starved, we tried to go get a bite of some local Amish delicacies to find that all the restaurants shut at 8pm and we were about 15 minutes too late. It was probably the worst thing that could have happened as on our last pass we found a trucker's diner, proper movie style I'm telling you. We devoured this deep fried chicken that Colonel Sanders himself might have turned his nose up at, and I drank the thickest milkshake known to man, opting for the spoon once the straw provided a little inadequate. My cheeks collapsing inwards with the sucking power I was exerting, providing Celia with some light entertainment and highlighting the straw's only possible use.

Walking around in their villages, buying goods from them, they do freak me out a little, I think it is because they choose to live such a separate life, not associating themselves with the world, not even knowing much about current affairs.

We never took any pictures of them as the guidebooks say that to them it's bad luck, or something to that effect.

We stopped off at one of the towns they stay called 'Intercourse', in Pennsylvania. Quite ironic as they are so reserved. It seems like these people are from the 'Men in Black' movies, remember that scene in the second installment where they were in the post office where they sent all the aliens and retired 'space officers'. The Amish could definitely be them.

One thing we learnt while we were there is that the reason they are called the 'Pennsylvania Dutch' is because when they first arrived in America (from space), they said to all the locals they were Deutsch, meaning German, the clever Americans mistaking that for Dutch so hence the misconception.

Next stop - capital city

Once we had made our way out of Richmond, it was a short (by American standards) drive to Washington which goes beyond all my expectations. It is a really cool city with a really 'livable' atmosphere and plenty to do.

We started off at Arlington cemetery where (don't quote me on this) all the national servicemen get buried. You must have seen the picture before, fields and fields of identical gravestones signaling all the brave men who have given their life for this country. Many other great people have been buried there including John F Kennedy and his brother Robert. These are definitely the more popular sites to visit here and are immensely difficult to photograph for all the Chinese tourists practicing their version of patience (pushing in).

It is definitely worth a stroll around here and a few hours will suffice to really take in how significant a place this is to the country.

From there it's straight over the memorial bridge and before you stands the famous World War 2 memorial and behind it in the distance, Capitol Hill. Do not ask me why it is spelled 'Capitol' and not 'Capital'.

We had a bit of time to relax that afternoon and went for lunch at 'Fudd Ruckers' at the recommendation of Chris, Odilette's son, who swears by it. It's this gourmet burger place where you select the size of the pattie you want and then you add all the garnish and extras at the salad bar yourself. I have Definite hunger pains right now just thinking about it.

That evening we found a campsite a few miles from DC town center, far enough to be isolated and quiet enough for the deer to wander round the park. We saw the most peculiar thing in DC in that they have so many institutions names after Chevy Chase, or he was named after them…? They have Chevy Chase bank, streets, you name it. I also think I finally figured out what the 'DC' in 'Washington, DC' stands for, 'District of Colombia' I believe. So there's a little fact to brighten up your day.

We went back into town after the entire tent putting up was done and found a nice convenient place to park. First stop, the White House. It is pretty impressive, but I still say that Buckingham Palace has one up on it, then again a hundred times better than 10 Downing St. We spent a couple hours taking some great night photos of the Washington landmarks before we headed back to the car and the comfort of our tent. What we would have done without our inflatable mattress I don't know.

After a good night's sleep we cleared up our site and headed for town with many things in mind to accomplish. We headed straight for the Aeronautical museum which has aircrafts from the Wright Brothers' plane to the lunar modules for the Apollo missions. It was immensely impressive, but the cream on the crop was the mini exhibit they had on display there. It was all about American icons and its history, probable titled the same too.

Thomas Edison's light bulb; Alex. Graham Bell's telephone; R2D2 & C3P0 from Star Wars; Dorothy's slippers & the scarecrow; Abe Lincolns top hat; George Washington's battle regalia and musket; Mohammed Ali's gloves; Babe Ruth signed ball; Micky Mantle baseball car; Prince (or the artist formerly known as Prince) 's guitar; and heaps more that I could go on for hours about. It was very, very exciting and I have many photos.

Unfortunately this did not leave much time for us to see the National Art Gallery as our parking meter was rapidly counting down leaving us with a double quick step tour that went from the door straight to the Vermeer paintings. These are Celia's favorites as 'the way he captures the light' is apparently pretty impressive, it wasn't half bad.

That pretty much summed up our Washington stay with a drive through the Cherry Blossoms remaining we were well on our way to a place I am very excited to see.

Oh Carolinas

To say we did much during the rest of our stay in Atlanta would be stretching it. We did go watch the semi-finals of the college basketball season at this great bar with a selection of hundreds of beers. I did only get through about 10 of them, but then again, I had to drive..

We bid Debi farewell and headed off through the Carolinas where we hit the cold weather showing us how lucky we had been with the warmth up until then. By the time we got to Columbia we were freezing and could not wait to get all snug in our tent. Camping in winter should be a no-no. I wish we were back on the west coast. With the weather turning out the way it is and the possibility of it warming up second to none, we ditched all our plans to head to Virginia Beach (damn) and decided instead to go inland.

One thing which makes South Carolina famous today is their 2006 Miss teen USA contestand who could possibly be the dimmest person ever to appear on television. Have a look at this video clip on YouTube. Too funny, I really mean way beyond funny!! Wooohoooo waaahaaahaaaaaaa haaaahaaa!!!!!

The drive that day was pretty uneventful. With much countryside to see, we just sat tight in the chairs and pressed on for Richmond as this would give us a good opportunity to reach DC by morning and plenty time to go sightseeing around the capital. There was of course time to stop off at our one of our favorite places.. outlet malls. Result - nothing purchased, nothing lost.

Virginia was really the start of the east coast weather. It was chilling down to the bone and we would experience one of our coldest nights camping here so far. Morning heralded a very exciting day though, the town of Richmond is extremely beautiful. It overflows with history and has many great statues depicting generals or the battles they were in. To go with that, there are a few quirky coffee shops and bars to keep those, who do not enjoy the wonders of history, entertained.

HotLanta

With our time in Florida up, we had time for a last trip to the beach, albeit under heavy cloud, but we knew it would be our last opportunity for a while so we made the most of it.
Our drive to Atlanta was a bit of a shambles and the first time we had gotten lost on this entire trip. We ended up driving this ring road all the way around one town for an hour and then later on did a little hour’s back and forth drive which pleased me immensely. We did eventually get to Debi’s house and settled in for a good night’s rest because we had to get up at sparrows fart to fetch Omar at the airport.

What a day we had. Airport at 7AM and fetch Omar – check; breakfast at Johnny Rockets – check; afternoon at Georgia Aquarium; tour of CNN Center; Hawks against Sixers in the evening.

You know you are going to have fun when you spend a day with Omar, we just seem to trade BSing all day long. The aquarium was amazing; well I should hope so – being the biggest one in the world. There is so much to see, but we seem to hit a snag at the Beluga whale tank when we couldn’t remove Celia from the massive clear glass panel. I must admit it was pretty amazing to see these mammals so close up and the day just got better as we saw the whale sharks, leopard sharks, rays and various other types of marine fish big and small. I loved seeing all the reef fish again, reminding me of our diving experiences in Thailand.

We went from there to the CNN center, which is actually the headquarters for the US and A. It was pretty fascinating seeing where some of the worlds breaking news is broadcast from. They explained to us how they do the weather these days and how they did it in the past with the green screen.

Now that were we completely bushed, we still had to go pick up Debi before the game, unfortunately the sudden rain storm delayed the entire pick up and we missed the first quarter. The game was pretty amazing though and the Sixers scraped through away from home by a few points, everything gone to plan. We were fortunate enough to get some great seats a few rows back in the final quarter as many of the patrons had left once their team was behind.

We ended a crazy day off at the ‘Waffle House’ with some grits and stayed a couple hours with Omar at the airport as he was catching a 5:30AM flight home. What a great day!!

Destin(ation), Florida

We could have stayed a few more days in New Orleans, but with the prospect of a few days on the beach in Florida only a handful of hour’s drive away, we packed up and went in search of some sun.

What a decision that ended up being as the weather was perfect and beaches – unbelievable. We couldn’t wait to get our toes in that sand. Finding a campsite was another issue though, we underestimated what a year round holiday destination Florida is and when we eventually found somewhere to camp, it was dusk and not much time left to spend on the beach. We did see this amazing little beach where we had to stop and take some postcard worthy pictures. Turns out it was a military recreation area and we were very fortunate to be let in to take some pictures. Those ten minutes we spent there were idyllic and some of the most relaxing of our entire trip. The beach was absolutely deserted and the sand, soft and white. Celia and I had both never been on a beach like this before. It may not have been the most picturesque, but its raw simplicity with flour like sand and emerald green water made you realize you were definitely somewhere unique. It’s not for nothing that Destin has been voted in the top beaches of the country for more years running than many can remember.

That evening we finally decided to have our big night out at a seafood restaurant and got a great recommendation at a no nonsense joint not too far away. You immediately got the idea when you walked in and in the reception stood a sign that said “We don’t need no stinking view”. This was not a day for half measures and we boldly ordered the king sized seafood platter for two. I also got a bowl of shrimp gumbo and did my best Bubba impression for the camera. What followed was a good effort at trying to finish lobster, king crab, crawfish and prawns. At one point we had both decided we were no longer hungry and just eating for the hell of it so we filled a take-out box with the leftovers, and headed for the comfort of our tent.

After doing some essential shopping on the second morning plus a trip to Walmart to exchange our inflatable mattress for one that does not leak overnight, we went and relaxed on the beach. It was tough finding a spot to lay your towel as all the condo developments have rights to the beach in front of their building. We did find a sweet little spot on the state beach where we could soak up the rays and play with that unbelievably soft sand I was telling you about earlier. We both had a little dip in the ocean which was heaps warmer than the water in California, but it was short lived as this mammoth cloud rolled in over the sea. Not the end of the world as we headed for a bar on the marina. Celia tried her best to OD on oysters; I did chuckle as the 9th one almost came up.

Apart from the oysters, I can definitely see why people flock in their thousands to get to the beautiful coastline of Florida.

Thank you Odi for your ama-zing recommendation

New Orleans continued……

Finding a campsite in close proximity to a major city is always a tall order in the urban jungles of today, and New Orleans was a no different, but we did find one right on this bayou a little south of the city center . Following usual procedure, we found our allotted site and began to put up our tent. What followed was the single most aggressive attack on human life since the D-day bombings. These killers were taking every available opportunity to gore on our flesh and within minutes Celia and I were covered in red welts from head to toe which started a frantic search for our mosquito repellent which had not been used since the great New Zealand Sand Fly battle of February ’08.

As soon as the tent was up we got the hell out of there and fondly retold our battle stories and displayed our war wounds. Celia vividly and quite animated explaining how four mosquitoes in synchronized attack landed on her thigh; broke down all defenses and continued their brutal lust for life until she had lost so much blood she felt dizzy. Not even my 501’s could keep them at bay and they got me right through them forcing me to scratch uncontrollably during our drive to the chemist.

With all our repellants and creams now bought, we headed down to the famous Bourbon St. With its image and reputation spurning many nightclubs and bars throughout the modern world, some which I must admit have ashamedly frequented on countless occasions. I can’t lie about the fact I was disappointed at how Bourbon Street has turned out. I know it is the survival of the fittest (richest), but every third bar in this place is a strip club which really takes a lot away from its carnival atmosphere. I have been told that since Hurricane Katrina had its devastating effect on this town, many restaurants and bars were forced to shut with the sleazy alternatives popping up all over the place.

We did manage to find a great little seafood spot just off the main drag and settled in for some snacks, I don’t really recall what type of seafood we ate that night, but it was tasty and most notably, all deep fried.

We were in the mood for more exploring so headed out to find some night life and ended up at this great bar with some fantastic live jazz music playing. We sat back and sipped on some cold ones. Celia was in her element, and I must admit that I enjoyed it too.

On our way home that night as we were driving through the national park to our campsite we saw a whole bunch of armadillos along the road which are infinitely cuter when they are alive than as road kill. Sadly they are very shy creatures so we could never get close enough to get a picture.

Sod’s laws definitely in place that night, as when we got back to our tent, there were no mosquitoes to be found near the tent, so armed with our cans and sprays of repellent, we had nothing to fire at and sleep would not be a problem.

New Orleans

We were happy again as the drive became a journey and not just a means to get to the destination. Driving along the scenic motorways in Louisiana, you see all the swamps around which is again, something new for us and worth a few photos.

One thing we really had to watch out for and which I found hilarious was the amount of traffic cops along the roads here sitting in their cars monitoring their radars with their trunk open so you could not see that it was a cop car (as it covers all the police lights and signs). I suppose you can only get caught once and if you have more than one brain cell in your head you will realise, trunk open - Polizei!!