Proud Again to be a Kiwi

New Zealand voted against the USA in the United Nations vote over the USA recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. All wimpy Australia could do was abstain.

I am so proud to have become a Kiwi citizen.

USA Final Week

As I mentioned in my last report I was very lucky to gain a lift from some people who lived near the ferry wharf at Anacortes so managed to overcome the problems with Amtrak and reach Friday Harbor on the San Juan islands late in the evening.

I stayed in a B&B and after a hearty breakfast was able to buy a day bus pass for the main island and went to a spot called The English Camp.  San Juan Island was the site of the last war between the USA and the British Empire in 1859 although no shots were fired in anger.
For 12 years both sides maintained a garrison on the island today known as English Camp and American Camp. Finally in 1872 Germany arbitrated in favour of the USA.

Near the English Camp is Mount Young, 650 feet (200 metres)  high and I climbed up and took photos.

I think Vancouver Island (Canada) is across the strait. At that time it was sunny and warm but in the afternoon clouds rolled in and it was grey and light drizzle for much of the rest of my time there.  After climbing the hill I had a look at the many preserved buildings of the camp. Apparently the English forces had a very pleasant stay. I was told a huge flag mast flies a Union Jack and it is the only place in the USA where it can be flown without the Stars and Stripes alongside. However the flag flying that day was the Star and Stripes, I guess understandable as it was July 4( Independence Day). When I left the town the street was lined with chairs in preparation for a parade later that day.

I walked around the point(about 1 mile) then instead of waiting for the hourly bus I followed the driver’s earlier suggestion to walk to the resort centre of Roche Harbor.  It was about 3 miles and rather hot and uninteresting. I took a detour to “wetlands” but they were quite dry.  When I reached Roche Harbor with what seemed like thousands of boats on a public holiday, it was almost time for the return bus to Friday Harbor. There I had an icecream and caught the bus in the opposite direction to Lime Kiln Bay and Whale Watcher’s point.
There are several pods of orcas in the area and the ranger said one pod had been there at 9.30am.  It was then after 4pm and they did not return.  At my B&B other guests with bicycles told me they had much more success but they were more flexible in their travel.

The following day I caught the ferry to another Island, Orcas island, which is larger but less populated. Again a bus trip across the island took me to Moran State Park and Cascade Lake. I was going to take the level walk of about 3 miles around the lake but met some others who were going to climb Mt Constitution 2,400 feet (730 metres) and 7 miles (11 km) return.  We had about 5 hours before the last return bus but my companions soon went ahead and after dealing with blisters and over 2 hours climbing I estimated I had walked just over 4 km and climbed over 600 metres to a point where there was a nice picnic area. I decided to have lunch and return down to the lake. I never saw the views but when I met my companions on the ferry back they told me it had been very misty. I returned down hill more quickly and sat for an hour with another icecream for the bus back to the ferry,

On Sunday I packed up again for the rather complicated trip to Seattle. It was back on the ferry to Anacortes. The 4 ferry trips over 3 days only cost me $6.50 as a senior. You just pay one way leaving the mainland and all trips between islands are free. I guess they make money on the cars. Being a holiday weekend, the car queues were long but plenty of room for foot passengers. At Anacortes I waited about an hour for a shuttle bus to Seattle airport, actually  2 buses, we had to change at one point. This took 3 hours then it was on the light rail for half an hour into Seattle and I found a very steep hill to my apartment.

I stayed 3 nights, again providing my own meals and taking it easy. The first day I wandered in Seattle, the main city, then the waterfront and the old town area of Pioneer Square where I spent a good hour in a museum about the Yukon Gold Rush when most prospectors started from Seattle. The second day I was more organised and took the monorail out to where the World Trade Fair was in 1962. I did not go up the Space Needle tower but visited the amazing Chihuly Glass Museum. I have included just one photo  but there were many examples of glass blowing by Dale Chihuly, many were set in the gardens.

Then to Pike St Markets where I did not make a good choice for lunch. I now realise why there were no queues at that takeaway fish and chip counter. After a rest back at my apartment I went to the sky viewing area at the Columbia centre. This was just 2 blocks from my apartment and much higher than the Space Needle. We took the lift to the 72nd floor. Then back down to the waterfront for a bus to the lakes and a ferry ride through the locks which allow large ships to enter the freshwater lakes. There was a spectacular view of Mount Rainier after we had gone out into Puget Sound.

Then one of the Seattle skyline.

The Columbia Tower where I had been earlier is the grey building on the right. The small building on the far right was built in the 1910’s and at the time was the highest building in the world outside of Manhattan.

I was lucky with very clear weather in Seattle which is known for cool cloudy weather. It was over 80’F every day. Apparently the west coast has had severe drought. I had very little rain on my trip.

The next morning I was on my last long train ride as I took the Coast Starlight again, this time to San Francisco. It was only an hour late. As the car attendant, who was far superior to my previous experiences, said. It was not late for Amtrak as it arrived on the same day.

However I had to leave my bags at the hotel for 5 hours and wander around the shops until I could get into my room and change. There are summer clothes sales on and I have splurged as much as I can fit into my bag without being overweight.

On Friday I took a tour to Muir Woods where I remember going on my first visit to San Francisco in 1980. This is now my 5th time in the city. I would have liked to use public transport but the shuttle from Sausalito to Muir Woods only runs on Saturday and I did not want to risk being on the wrong side of the bay when I had to catch a flight home. The tour took us across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Woods where the Sequoia or Coast Redwoods grow. These are the tallest trees in the world, the tallest is 112 metres but not in Muir Woods.

I think these grew to 75 metres. There are lots of walks but I only had time to do a 2 mile round trip before the bus took us into Sausalito.

 I left the bus here and after a good lunch I went by ferry back across the bay to San Francisco.

Last night I attended the San Francisco Opera production of La Traviata. I believed I would see Pene Pati from Sol e Mio singing one of the minor roles and was disappointed to see he was not in the cast. I have now learnt he withdrew from a scholarship with the San Francisco Opera in April and I bought my ticket in March. However it was an excellent performance and La Traviata provides a feast of great music.

I tried to finish and send this before leaving the hotel but was not successful. I am now at the airport waiting for my flight to Auckland. Security gets worse and worse. I even had to take my handkerchief out of my pocket and, as I refuse to part with my passport, they flicked through it after  I was body scanned.
 After leaving the hotel I spent over an hour waiting to board the cable car. I have travelled on it several times but still enjoy it.  I think the crowds are evidence that it would be great if they restored them in High Street, Dunedin. It would then only be the 2nd city with a cable car in the world.
After the cable car ride I took a trolley bus and then a normal bus to the Golden Gate Bridge.  I had wanted to do this in previous visits but this was the first time I managed it. I walked to the midpoint and back which was a real test of my fear of heights. As it is 2 km across, that meant my return walk was 2km.

After getting back to the city I wanted a coffee and found a shop called Nespresso. It is attempting to bring proper coffee to the USA. It was real upmarket, at a price, sitting in swivel armchairs with lots of waiters providing constant service. There were 3 types/strengths of coffee as well as decaffeinated, I chose a mid range strength. With a chocolate cake it came to $16 plus tip. Not your everyday choice and I did not take up the offer to join the Nespresso Club. Finally I collected my luggage and caught the train to the airport. Thankfully my luggage was not overweight but my hiking boots are in my carry on.

All being well I depart at 9.15pm arrive Auckland at 5.25am after more than 12 hours in the air then my flight to Dunedin arrives at 10.20am.

I have actually now returned home. We landed in Auckland on time but there was a thick fog and so my flight to Dunedin was over half an hour late. However many regional flights were cancelled. Dunedin was sunny but cold, there had been a heavy frost in the morning.

USA Week 4 (and a bit)

Since leaving Washington there have been a few disappointments and frustrations but lots of wonderful scenery and happy coincidences.
The train journey of nearly 24 hours on the Cardinal from Washington to Chicago was through Virginia, West Virginia  and Kentucky into Ohio by nightfall. We crossed the Allegheny Mountains. While very scenic there were few opportunities for great photos through the trees.
At lunch the first day I sat with a couple from Cronulla, Sydney who were also crisscrossing the USA by train. We also had dinner together. The next morning they were a little concerned as we were running late and they had to make a connection to the Southwest Chief to Los Angeles. However we were only an hour late and they would have been ok. To avoid that worry I stayed overnight in Chicago. There was a cool wind and as I walked along the lake shore the mist over the buildings was quite fascinating.

The next morning was spent in the Art Institute. It certainly lived up to its reputation of being the best art gallery in the USA. The number of impressionist paintings was amazing. 
Then it was back on the train, this time the Empire Builder which runs from Chicago to Seattle. Just after dinner and before reaching Minneapolis we crossed the Mississippi.

By the next morning we were in North Dakota and beginning to experience the significant delays this train has recently been experiencing due to oil freight blocking its path. Actually we had one of the better runs for the week and were only an hour and a half late into East Glacier.  I stayed the first night at the 100 year old Glacier Park Lodge which has the largest foyer of all the great National Park Lodges.

While right opposite the train station, it is not actually in Glacier National Park so the next morning I was on a shuttle into the park and to Many Glacier Lodge. It had a much more scenic location on a lake. The shuttle drive gave me the worst news. I had planned my whole USA trip around taking the bus to Going to the Sun Road. It goes over the Continental Divide and usually the road is open from June 20. I planned June 30. However 2 weeks earlier heavy rain and caused avalanches and the road was still closed. (I think it may have opened the day after I left.)
However on the shuttle I also met Lu-ann and her mother Mary from Indiana who were following the same itinerary as me. We had many meals together over the next few days and shared some of the frustrations, beginning with our rooms not being ready until after 4pm.
Just after I got into my room I had to rush down for a pre-booked ferry ride on the lake. It was actually 2 ferries with a short walk between the lower and upper lakes. The sky was overcast with intermittent showers so although I took many photos, better ones came in later days.

The next day was the bus ride which now only went 13 of the 50 miles along the Going to the Sun Road. However even this was very scenic and I sat up the front next to the driver. We went up to a point where we overlooked one of the many glaciers. The Red Buses were built in the 1930’s and have removable canvas roofs.
Here is of our bus with 2 Medicine Lake behind.

The tour was still 8 hours but went to alternate places which I was to see again during my stay there. While still disappointing it was not as bad as I feared when first hearing of the road being closed.
 In  the evening I walked about 4 km around the lake. I was only going to go part way as it is not wise to walk alone in bear country but met up with a couple who invited me to join them. There were quite a few groups walking. Back at the hotel I waited to see sunset over the Mountains from the back deck.

The next morning I joined a ranger led walk for safety. Besides having a canister of bear spray she regularly sang out “Ho Ho Bear, hikers coming through and clapped” The main thing is not to surprise them suddenly in their dining room. However we did not seek any bears, elk or moose just a few big horn sheep. I am not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.
We walked to Bull Head Lake, about 10 km return although I had any extra 3 km return from the hotel to the ranger station. We only climbed about 300 metres. These photos were taken along the way, one of the Red Rock Falls.

We had lunch by the lake looking up at several glaciers. sadly they are rapidly retreating with climate change. I had hoped to go to Iceberg Lake which is higher and has floating ice in it until late summer but it was still blocked by snow and probably just as well as there would be more climbing and at over 1250 metres above sea level I was quite breathless.

In the late afternoon I was back on the shuttle to Glacier Park Lodge for the night. As the train was not due until late the next day I went down the village in the morning and had some huckleberry pie with my coffee. Huckleberries are very nice, a less sweet blueberry but cannot be farmed so only available in areas where they grow wild.

Then I caught the shuttle back to 2 Medicine Lake, where I took the photo of the red bus 2 days earlier. I was put on a waiting list for the 1pm ferry and luckily my name was called as that saved me a 3 km walk around the lake. When i got off the ferry most people were taking the short walk with a guide to Twin Falls about 3 km return but I met a young couple from Kansas city who were happy to have an old bloke join them and we walked the 8 km return to Upper 2 Medicine Lake taking it in turn to sing out “Ho Ho Bear, Coming Through”
I am so glad I did as, after struggling over a snow bank, I had the best view of my trip.

Back on the ferry and shuttle to Glacier Park Lodge where, after dinner, we waited until the train arrived 4 hours late at 12.20am.

When I woke we were nearly 5 hours late and it looked like I would miss my connections to San Juan Islands. I had booked a very cheap motel in Seattle just in case as it was the night before the July 4 Long weekend.

However, while explaining the situation to the car attendant, the lady in the next roomette overheard me and told me that she and her daughter were headed for their home in Anacortes where I needed to catch the ferry and her husband was picking her up.
So I got off at an earlier stop and was driven by Paul, along with Vicki and Emily for nearly 2 hours. Unfortunately I just missed the 4.45pm ferry but did get on the 8.20pm and arrived Friday Harbor on San Juan Island at 9.30pm. I will continue the story in a few days time.

USA Week 3

I have now completed 9 days in New York and Washington.  As I reported, I did very little the first day except washing, some food shopping and lazing around.  I took advantage of having a full apartment to myself with lounge, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. I had to use the communal laundry but a full wash was just $1.50 and it was just along the corridor.
I did go for a long walk in the early evening in the nearby Fort Tryon Park. I was at the very top of Manhattan island. The park was full of joggers and dog exercisers and there were views over the Hudson River and on the other side across to the Bronx.

On Wednesday I caught the subway to the Cathedral of St John the Divine. It is the largest Anglican (Episcopalian) church in the world and the 4th largest Christian church. It is still not finished and when I visited in 2007, it was still largely hoarded up after a fire in 2001.

This was my fourth visit to New York so I was not interested in seeing all the usual sites. I headed for the top of Central Park which was nearby and planned to walk the full length (4 km) but as the temperature rose to 88’F (32’C) I only completed about half. There were some nice gardens and lakes and I think it would be unbearable to live in Manhattan without the park.  After checking the specials in the delightfully cool Macy’s, I headed back home to rest before going out for the evening.
I ate out in an Italian restaurant then went to the Lincoln Centre and a performance by the New York Philharmonic. They played Beethoven’s 2nd and 3rd Piano concertos with Yefim Bronfman on the piano. It was excellent. I would have liked to go to the Met but there was no opera that week. Instead they had the ballet Giselle. I saw that in Dunedin last year and sadly ballet is not my taste.

On Thursday I went way downtown to the High Line. I had wanted to go there on my last visit in 2010. They have converted an old elevated railway into an urban park which stretches for 1.6km.

It was a great walk in the now much cooler (but some light showers) weather and I found a good cappuchino. Finding good coffee in the USA is a challenge. I know I am spoilt in Dunedin which must have more little coffee shops for its population than any other city I know.  The High Line is a copy of  a similar project in Paris which I must visit next year. Yes I have already made one booking for a return to Paris in April 2015.

I had lunch in a Pret a Manger (ready to eat) store. I had eaten at one of  these in the UK . They have natural fresh sandwiches and fruit juices.
Then I visited Grand Central Station which is very impressive before queuing at Half Tix in Times Square. An hour and a half later I had a ticket for that evening’s performance of ‘Pippin” and I decided to catch the bus home. That was a big mistake. The guide book said it was a great way to see the city rather than the usual underground trip in the subway. The subway takes less than half an hour, the bus took just on 2 hours so the sightseeing wore a little thin. I had just time to eat and freshen up before returning (on the subway) to Times Square and the theatre. Pippin was bright and lively and at the end I quickly passed through the noise, crowds  and bright lights of Times Square( I now feel my age) and back by subway arriving at the apartment at 11.30pm.
On my first visit in 1980 I was too scared to go out after dark. New York is a great improvement these day and I have gone to musicals on each of my visits in 2007 and 2010.

Friday I went right down town to the recently opened National September 11 Memorial and Museum. The Memorial 

 opened in September 2011 but the Museum was only opened in May. Two pools with the largest man made waterfalls in the United States cascading down their sides are located within the footprints of the Twin Towers. Each pool is 1-acre, and together they are intended to symbolize the loss of life and the physical void left by the terrorist attacks.
I queued for half an hour for a ticket to the museum and the time allocated was 1.30. It was then 11.30 so I walked down to Battery park and bought a coffee then sat on the water front looking over at the Statue of Liberty. On the way back I photographed the new building.

The museum is big. There are many memorial items such as a destroyed fire engine, parts of the building and a memorial rug.

Most moving is a room which goes through the names, portrays photos and records memories by relatives or close friends.  There is the story of the original building of the towers and I was interested to see they were the first to be built by kangaroo cranes which are named  both due to the way they climb or jump as the building goes up and after the country where they were invented.

You could spend hours learning of the history of that day, air traffic control recordings and the few days after but I think most of us have watched it over and over already so I left after about 2 hours.
Again I returned to my apartment before heading downtown again. I certainly made use of my 7 day transport pass. This time it was to have dinner with 2 internet friends. I met Chuck when he visited Sydney in 2009 and on my visit to NYC in 2010 when I also met Cindy and was invited to her apartment. It was good to have dinner with company and  afterwards we strolled along part of the High Line again which was nearby.

On Saturday I had to pack up again and make my way to Penn Station and the train to Washington. The trip was just 3 hours  but the train was 50 minutes late departing and an hour late into Washington Union Station. I made my way on the metro to another apartment this time on the ground floor of a terrace with the owners upstairs. This even had its own washing machine and drier and the owners provided fruit, nibbles and coffee.

On Sunday I attended the National Episcopal Cathedral and was pleasantly surprised to find Bishop Gene Robinson was presiding. I met him about 6 years ago and he was kind enough to say he remembered. In the evening I went to the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts to see a performance of “The Lion King”. I enjoyed it very much and the centre is also an amazing building with great views over the river.

I saw all the memorials, White House, Arlington Cemetery, Library of Congress etc. back in 2007 but wanted to see some of the Smithsonian Museums.
I began on Tuesday with the National Gallery of Art (which I have only just discovered is not a Smithsonian museum but on the Mall with the others) The amount and variety of art is immense. After 2 hours I moved over to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden which displays contemporary art and photography. I do not think I stayed much more than 15 minutes. I then went to the National Museum of Natural History for its cafeteria but then spent time in the section on Oceans and Genome Science, both were interesting.
With very sore feet I decided that the National Museum of the American Indian would be most different for me to finish and it is a very unusual building

 with interesting exhibits and a movie.

On my travels, several people had advised me to visit George Washington’s Mansion at Mount Vernon. Therefore today I took a boat trip up the Potomac River (one and half hours each way) and spent 3 hours there with a tour of the house

 and wandering around the farm, slave quarters and gardens as well as Washington’s tomb. Besides being the founder of the Nation, I have learnt that he was very innovative in his farming practices.

I am now ready to head west on a train trip right across to the West Coast again. Tomorrow I will begin with about 23 hours on the Cardinal to Chicago.

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USA Adventure Week 1

For those I have not recently contacted, I have begun a 6 week tour through the USA. The first week has mainly been travelling. I left Dunedin at 4pm last Monday and about 17 hours later was in my hotel in Los Angeles but it was still 4pm on Monday.

It was the first time I had visited downtown LA. I stayed there in order to be near the Union Station as I began the first of many rail journeys. However I spent Tuesday wandering in the area, mainly to recover from the flight and jetlag.

I visited the very modern Catholic Cathedral then found the Walt Disney Concert Hall which was built just 10 years ago and is very modern. I was pleased to find free entry and audioguide. It is futuristic in design which is difficult to photograph and there is a roof top garden.

 I was lucky that the main auditorium was open and a young woman was practising on the organ but photos were not allowed in there. I then wandered further through the city.

On Wednesday I boarded the Coast Starlight for 12 hours by train to San Francisco. I booked a roomette aalthough I was not travelling overnight but it was well worth it especially with free meals and coffee thrown in. I was a llittle disappointed in the coastal scenery.

 I guess I am spoilt with the coastlines of both NZ and Australia. I am told the US coastline is more dramatic further north but not in view from the train.

After just 9 hours in a hotel I was back on the California Zephyr for 32 hours to Denver. This did provide dramatic scenery with the deserts of Nevada and the Colorado Gorge.

I was surprised at some accents I heard and discovered that among my fellow passengers was a tour group from New Zealand. There were 14 Kiwis and 3 Aussies doing a rail journey right around the USA.

I spent 2 nights in Denver and Saturday I walked the long 16th Street Mall, discovered a People's Fair where I bought lunch, and in the afternoon visited the Denver Art Gallery. It was free for the first Saturday of the month but I paid to also see the exhibtion of Modern Masters, both European and American, which was very good and closing the following day. It is also a modern design

 



and I saw the first of what I believe will be a lot of American Indian Art. 

Sunday was back in the air, this time just over an hour flight to Rapid City in South Dakota. I am glad the shuttle insisted on picking me up at the hotel at 11.15am for a 2pm flight. The flight was delayed by thunderstorms. For a short while all outside ground staff were withdrawn due to lightning and there was a tornado watch in place. Our plane finally landed from Texas about an hour late but after boarding we were told we were overweight and 2 people had to be removed. When there were no volunteers, the last 2 to check-in were selected. Thankfully I stayed aboard and arrived Rapid City 90 minutes late.

I have joined a 7 night Coach tour here and have now completed 2 days 1 but will leave that until next time.

Travel Plans Part 2

I have struck a couple of problems with the second part of my journey.  I prefer travelling by train rather than air and I do not want to drive on the wrong side of the road. I drove from San Francisco to Yosemite and back in 1997 and was terrified most of the way. Since then I have driven around Amiens in France in 2002 and 2007 as it was the only way to reach my Uncle's grave but again not something I entered into lightly.

As mentioned in the first installment I am flying from Munich to Chicago on September 22nd and have booked 3 nights there. I spent less than 24 hours in Chicago in 1999 and went up the Sears Tower but not much else in the way of sightseeing. It was November and a bit cold down by the lake.
Hopefully I might meet up with two readers of my blog there. I had wanted to travel by the Lakeshore Limited to New York but all the roomettes were booked out 5 months in advance and I did not fancy sitting up all night so am flying to New York on Saturday 25th.

There is a dinner for Brokeback Mountain Fans in New York that night and on Sunday I plan to attend the Episcopal Church of St Paul, Chatham and meet Rev Elizabeth Kaeton (Telling Secrets).

I will spend another 2 days in New York. After visiting for 3 days in both 1980 and 2007 I feel I have done the main tourist things so will need to consider  further what I will do in the big Apple this time.

 Then I commence a strange zig zag odyssey through New England. I will catch the train to Albany on Wednesday 29th and hopefully meet up with Fran. Then on the 30th travel by train to Springfield, Mass.  I have made a hotel booking there which cannot be cancelled although I think it may have been a mistake. I thought several days in Burlington, Vermont would be pleasant.  However the train arrives in Essex Jct about 5 miles away at nearly 9pm. There is a local bus but I may have to get a cab. I considered Greyhound but they travel through the night arriving 4am and the plane fare is ridiculous (3 times the fare from Chicago to New York).  Perhaps I could rent a car in Springfield for the journey up and back (372 km each way) but......

After 3 nights in Burlington, hopefully with some relaxing walks and lake cruises, I will return to Springfield by train and then a bus over to Boston for 3 nights.  I visited Boston in 1980 and liked it very much.
Then to Maine for 3 nights where MotherAmelia has kindly offered to accommodate and show me around (and I will meet a Church Dog)

Again there are problems with my next leg to Halifax, Nova Scotia. I originally planned to travel by ferry but it no longer runs.  Plane flights from Portland are ridiculous as they travel via Philadelphia and cost accordingly.  So I will need to travel by train back to Boston for one night and have booked the only direct flight from Boston to Halifax which leaves at 8am on Monday October 11.

Then my third stage through Canada begins.
There will be 19 nights in the USA plus another 2 in San Francisco on the way home

ADDED
I have solved my problem. There is a day Greyhound coach from Springfield MA (changing at White River Jct) to Burlington AIRPORT and arriving just before 3pm. From there I can catch a shuttle to Burlington Downtown at a reasonable hour. I will return in the train.

Long Term Plans

Not much blogging as I have been trying to prepare a 35 year old house for sale and housework is the last thing I like to do. I have been reading blogs as a break from the task. Amazing the dust that develops in hidden places where no-one would ever look unless they were considering to buy a home and I cannot just blame the recent dust storms.

However I have also been amusing myself planning a long journey at the end of next year. I do not even know where I will be living so most plans are vague except today the cost of 2 nights accommodation in Oberammergau and the tickets to the Passion play went onto my credit card. The tickets are for the performance on September 21, 2010.  If I cancel up to 6 months before I only lose 20% and 3 months before 30%. However even a year before the date I had to take a higher accommodation level than I originally wanted.

Friends from South Africa, whom I met on the train to the performance back in 1980, emailed me back in March suggesting a reunion (The play is only performed every 10 years.) However my emails to them have gone unanswered since May so sadly I am going alone. I am very worried about them in the volatile conditions in Johannesburg.

My dreams are to spend September in Europe. I have never been to Portugal and visited Spain way back in 1980. Or I could return to the British Isles which I last visited also in 1980 and have never been to Ireland. I must resist spending too much more time in Bavaria which I love so much but was there in 2008.

After the performance I am considering returning home via the USA and Canada.

My plan is to complete a loop mainly by train from Chicago to New York to New England onto Nova Scotia then Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, Toronto and Niagara. Finally flying from Toronto with a stopover in either San Francisco or Los Angeles.

I was not sure which way to go but find I would see more in daylight on the Lake Shore Limited from Chicago to New York rather than the other way.

I want to catch the jetcat from Portland to Nova Scotia but this year it finishes running on October 12 and I have just learnt from Grandmere's blog that the leaves in New England may not be at their best that early.

I also find it is difficult to see some places on my list such as Mt Washington in New Hampshire and the Cabot trail in Nova Scotia. I either need to drive (Right hand traffic, no, no) or travel with an expensive tour, they always stay in much more expensive accommodation than I need or can afford.  Europe is so much easier than North America, or Australia for that matter, for the budget traveller without a car.

However al these details can wait until next year, I must stop dreaming and get back to housework.

Travels in the USA

I have just posted to Germany an application for tickets and accommodation for the Oberammergau Passion Play in September 2010.
I attended the play in 1980 and on the train from Munich to Oberammergau I met Kathy and Peter, a couple from Johannesburg.  I travelled part of the Romantic Road with them and we kept up some correspondence, mainly Christmas cards. They visited Sydney twice in the 90's and I had dinner with them each time.
Early this year they asked would I join them on a reunion to next year's play. It is only held every 10 years. After some hesitation due to finances I agreed but sadly my emails to them for the last 3 or so months have had no reply. I have decided to go ahead and book anyway.
Perhaps I might buy a round the world ticket, as in 1980, and visit the USA again.

I spent 4 months in Europe in 1974, another 8 weeks in 1976 and 6 weeks in 1980. On that last journey I decided to return home via the States.
3 days were spent in New York which I hated at the time, it was a scary place (much better in 2007).  I did not go out after dark. I did the usual sights: round Manhattan ferry, Empire State, United Nations, a bus tour, Greenwich Village.

From there I travelled by train to Boston which was much more enjoyable. The taxi driver who took me to the station in New York told me I was mad to travel by train but I love sitting in a train watching the scenery pass by. The trip was through the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to Massachusetts. I remember visiting Concord, Lexington and Bunker Hill and the Old North Church and enjoyed the streets and squares. I felt much more comfortable than in New York.

I then flew across the States to San Francisco, California, at that time the mecca for all gay men.
However my wallet was stolen in a gay bar that first Saturday night. Sadly it included my Amex card. Sunday was a very frugal day (I had left some cash in my hotel room but still I ate at MacDonalds) but I was given cash by Amex on the Monday and I took a ferry ride around Alcatraz and a bus tour across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Muir Woods.  I flew home on the Tuesday via a stop in Hawaii (planes travel non-stop these days).  .

I did not travel overseas again for 17 years.

In 1997 I had a new career as a Teacher-Librarian and decided to attend the conference of the American Library Association in San Francisco. I spent 3 nights again in San Francisco, mainly at the conference, but did have company for a night out in the Castro and had another cable car ride to Fisherman's Wharf. I watched part of the seemingly endless Gay Pride march on the Sunday.
Being a bit daring I hired a car on the Monday to drive to Yosemite. I had driven in Europe in the 70's but was much older now and found left hand drive very scary. A librarian friend from LA drove up and stayed with me at a B&B in Yosemite. He insisted I drive to dinner the first night but decided he would make a better job of it the next day as he showed me the sights and we completed some walks in the wonderful scenery.
I managed to drive back to San Francisco, in fact my nerves improved immensely and, trying to find Emeryville Railway station where I wanted to leave my bag,  I made a u-turn and chased a bus which had the station name as its destination.  However I was glad to hand back the car and join the Coast Starlight express for a marvellous 24 hours to Seattle, Washington. Even though it ran many hours late, I fell in love with Amtrak. I walked on the platform in Eugene, Oregon.

A fellow teacher, contacted on the net, showed me around Seattle and being July 4, we finished the day by watching the fireworks in a park.
I then travelled by hydrofoil to Vancouver Island and spent a week at a Teacher-Librarian conference in Vancouver before visiting the Canadian Rockies.
On the way home I spent several more hours in San Francisco, enough time to buy several pairs of jeans.

In 1999 I again headed over the Pacific, mainly to attend another conference this time in Birmingham, Alabama.  I flew into Los Angeles and my Yosemite companion picked me up and drove me around the city: the beaches, Beverly Hills and Hollywood. I spent the night at his home before flying onto New Orleans, Louisiana.

I loved New Orleans and decided I must take my sister, who is a Jazz fan, there.
I took a river cruise to the Zoo, returned by street car, visited the Aquarium and, of course, wandered the French Quarter. Just 2 nights and I flew onto Birmingham for the 4 day Conference.
At the end of the conference I flew with a change of planes in St Louis, Missouri to Detroit, Michigan where I was met by a librarian with whom  I had been corresponding for a few years. She met me with her family (in case I was an axe murderer:-) and after having dinner with her mother-in-law in Detroit and a brief city tour, we drove to her home in Bronson. They were very hospitable but I did feel like a prize exhibit as I was shown off around Bronson and Coldwater and even taught two lessons to classes about to start a study of Australia. They drove me across Michigan to South Haven on the lake. I was driven to Kalamazoo where I said goodbye and caught the train to Chicago, Illinois passing through Indiana.


I had less than 24 hours in Chicago which was clearly not enough. I did go up the Sears Tower.  However I had another memorable time with Amtrak on the California Zephyr across the US for 2 nights and days. Through Iowa, Nebraska and into Colorado. I briefly alighted in Denver, Then to Utah. It was midnight in Salt Lake City so I did not see much, in fact nothing at all. I took another brief walk at a stop in Nevada before arriving for another visit in San Franciso. Just one night and day there before the flight home.

We now move onto 2007. As I said, I had made a resolution to take my sister to New Orleans and decided to tie this in with a visit to my favourite city of all, Paris. So I was again off on a round the world flight.

Back to Los Angeles, which we had both visited and not a favourite of either of us but a place to recover from jet lag. We stayed near the Airport but, believing we must try to adjust quickly, on the afternoon we arrived took a local bus to the beach at Santa Monica. The sea air blew away some of the fogginess of the brain.

The next day I had booked a tour to the Getty Museum and this was an excellent choice. Changed our whole perspective of Los Angeles, stunning building, great setting and excellent art work.

We flew onto New Orleans, apprehensive of what it might be like after Katrina. However we need not have worried. We stayed out in the Garden District but sadly the street car had not yet been repaired so we made many bus journeys to the French Quarter. Highlights were a culinary walking tour of the famous restaurants (we were the only ones with an excellent guide), dinner at Muriel's on Jackson, self guided walk in Garden District and a swamp tour including an unscheduled tour through some areas devastated by Katrina.

After 3 nights we flew via Charlotte to Charleston, South Carolina. I had to make a choice between Charleston and Savannah. A carriage ride was a great introduction the first afternoon. The next day we met friends who live in Birmingham and who had driven over to show us around. We visited the Middleton Plantation and the Aitken Rhett House in the town.
They drove us to the station the next morning and we boarded the Palmetto for the trip to Washington. This was not as memorable as my earlier Amtrak journeys especially as a fatal accident delayed us 4 hours and it was about Midnight into Washington. We, however, glimpsed the scenery of both South and North Carolina as well as Virginia.
Two full days in Washington, D.C. involved Arlington, Maryland, The Library of Congress, The Mall and an evening tour of the monuments on day one followed by many of the memorials again in our own time, the White House and the Post Office Tower on the second morning. A subway trip and a long walk found us at the National Cathedral in the second afternoon.

Then back on the train to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately we both came down with head colds as we left Washington. I will always blame George Bush.  However we managed a very interesting walking tour around Philadelphia and a wonderful dinner with more internet friends who blog here. We attended the Eucharist at St Mark's with Davis and had an otherwise lazy Sunday dealing with the colds.

Finally Monday on the train to New York passing through New Jersey.  As I wrote, I found it much more pleasant this second time round, it was my sister's first visit to the East Coast. I enjoyed travelling on the subway. We walked in Central Park, did a half circle cruise, took in Grand Central Station and Times Square.  Tuesday involved the Empire State, Battery Park, Trinity Church, Little Italy and the Guggenheim Museum (disappointing) In the evening we took in a Broadway show - Legally Blonde -  before visiting the Top of the Rock.
Our final day was the Episcopal Cathedral of St John the Divine, the Museum of Natural History, Greenwich Village and Soho before travelling with luggage by subway out  to JFK airport and the overnight flight to Paris.
Therefore I have visited just half the states, though some very briefly or only seen from the train. 

So now I will consider making my 5th journey to the US in the second half of next year. I am most interested in visiting more of New England in Autumn (Fall) and perhaps Eastern Canada.
However no decisions needed until early in the New Year.