by ·Comments Off on Trip Report – Around the World on a Star – San Francisco to Chicago to New York – 3rd August

An early morning wake up and no running this morning as to dark and the “fitness centre” at the hotel opens to late. Not to worry, will enjoy a day of rest and relaxation as I fly across the country. A light breakfast and a final check of emails before I jump onto my free shuttle to the airport.

Upon arrival at Terminal 3 at SFO I noticed that this was not a good thing to be here at this time. It looked like a madhouse at the Economy check in and security. Fortunately I had access to Premium Check In and also Premium Security. Thank the lord. No real wait, was directed to a self check in machine and figuring it wouldn’t work for me, I waited for someone to come up and offer assistance. After 2 or 3 minutes no one came. So I gave up and put in my confirmation number still expecting it to fail on me. It didn’t. Now this is where I should of figured things were not as expected. My boarding pass spat out both flights as United First. Hrm thats wierd. I figured I would deal with it at the gate and get through security while I could.

I was directed to premium security after asking where it was, and soon enough I was in the queue. I grabbed a few zip lock bags as I didn’t have the right size and some spares will come in handy later in the trip. Security was a non issue, not even a grope from the TSA 🙁

Once through I went in search of the gate so I could get my bearings before running a few errands. I found the gate next to a customer service point so queried my boarding pass. I was told all was fine and it was just a system issue. I double checked my seat on seat guru and I was still allocated a backwards facing seat. Awesome. I convinced the agent to reprint me passes on real stock rather than the flimsy crap the self service kiosk spits out.

With that done I went in search of a banana, some coffee & some water. No access to Red Carpet Club meant I couldn’t get this free. I explored the terminal for a while getting heaps of photos and searching for a retro jet. No dice 🙁 I browsed the shops for a bit (if u walk into the Ghiradelli shop they give you samples) and soon enough I could see a crowd gathering at the gate. Figuring the gate lice were starting early realised there was only 15 mins to boarding and a plane was at the gate. Unfortunately my worst fear had come true, an aircraft swap. We were changed to a domestic configuration 757-200 🙁 No more backwards facing seat.

I was a little dissapointed but thems the break. What was good for me though was that I was not in economy as a lot of people were about to get bumped. Volunteers were bound to be asked for. I ended up joining the back of the scrum rather than sit down as it wasn’t worth it by this stage with only a few minutes till boarding time.

United Airlines
UA972
San Francisco to Chicago O’Hare
1011-1625
Boeing – 757-200 (N581UA)
First Class – Seat 6A

Boarding: 0941 (Gate 82)
Push Back 1020
Take Off Roll: 1032 (Runway 1R)
Top of Descent: 1530
Touch Down: 1604 (Runway 10)
Shut Down: 1610 (Gate C26)

With boarding called on time, I gave it a few minutes to let the scrum die down a little before getting in the boarding queue and then having to fight through the pushing and shoving of the DYKWIA crowds. I got through soon enough and was shortly on my way down the jet bridge.

At the door there was quite a wait for people to get into the aircraft as their million & one carry on bgs were stored. I was welcomed on board, directed to my seat. Jackets were hung, no pillows on offer but blankets at the seat. No sign of headphones or menus (neither ever offered). But I settled in and was soon offered a pre departure beverage of choice. As we waited during the boarding process the Captain gave a very thorough flight introduction including telling us where we were going to fly over (Sacremento and Sioux Falls were the two I distinctly remember. Channel 9 was active (yay) and soon enough we were pushing back. Numerous times the crew were advising people to fix, up there bags before takeoff.

We pushed back a little late and listening to Channel 9 was awesome for this as i could tell exactly what was going on. We taxiied pretty quick to Runway 01R and after a little hold we were airborne. Right turn towards Oakland and Sacremnto and a nice long climb to altitude. Orders were taken and was originally told the only option was a Turkey Sandwhich, however after being told that a salad was also available and I had the option due to status I took it.

A beverage was offered next and I took a diet coke with lime and some warm nuts as my tribute to lucky from “One mile at a time, a blogger I enjoy reading. With those cleared away lunch was soon brought around and my Southwest Chicken Salad with soup and Breadsticks was offered and I settled in to enjoyed this lunch while watching the movie, Water for Elephants.

Lunch was cleared away, coffee and an oatmeal cookie fresh from the oven were offered and I savoured this with one of my samples of San Fran chocolate, while writing part of this trip report as well. After a while I gave up watching the movie and settled into reading my book on my tablet while listening to channel 9. Now lets discuss this lovely function that is only available on United. Channel 9 is an audio channel which feeds the air traffic control feed from the cockpit direct to the audio system. Whatever the pilots hear, you hear. It is an avgeeks dream. I loved it. While I sat there enjoying it, the world passed away below.

Eventually we started to descend and with Ch9 running I could hear it coming. It was a very slow, gradual descent but as we got closer to Chicago you could hear the ATC get crazier. The O’Hare airport is one of the busiest so you can expect it to get crazy. The landing was silky smooth and I was to distracted shooting photos to really notice. We had a fairly quick taxi to the gate and we were released to the masses about 20 mins early.

Once on the ground the emails flooded in and the tweets were flowing as I was trying to get some tickets to the daily show. Some where released and as I ambled through the terminal trying to get the tickets i had no idea where I was going and ended up walking the whole length of the C concourse. Unfortunately no tickets 🙁

One good thing about going from Concourse C to Concourse B is the use of the trippy tunnel. O yeah. I had camera ready to snap away. Took a number of photos in the tunnel all while I am sure annoying lots of people as I was gawking.

Once out into the B concourse I went scouring the terminal for any signs of a retro jet, but sadly no luck. I wanted it so bad I swear I walked that terminal about 3 times and those terminals are not small either. By the time I had realised what the time was I was meant to be boarding so rushed to the gate. But it was still full of people. Just then the gate agent made an announcement that he had no computer access to either of his terminals so he could not board till further notice.

We waited and waited, with no updates. Pretty soon departure time came and went but then the announcement came. He said and I quote. “Ladies and Gentlemen. This will not be pretty at all. I am going to board two classes and two classes only, no status, no zones. This will be a slow manual process. We will board First then Economy. If you are standby on this flight, you will not be clearing this flight. Unfortunately I can’t do anything about this, I do apoligise. We will now board First Class.” With that the masses pushed the gate but those of us in First made our way to the front.

United Airlines
UA692
Chicago O’Hare to New York La Guardia
1730-2046
Airbus – A319 (N840UA)
First Class – Seat 1A

Boarding: 1735 (Gate B6)
Push Back 1752
Take Off Roll: 1812 (Runway 9R)
Top of Descent: 2011
Touch Down: 2107 (Runway 22)
Shut Down: 2112 (Gate C7)

Once through I manged to get down the gangway fairly quickly after my beloved boarding pass was cut in half. Can’t have everything I guess. I made my way down to the aircraft where most people were in a jovial mood. Even the crew were in good spirits. Joking around. I found my seat, stahed my gear easily and made myself comfortable as somehow, a passenger made it onboard the wrong flight. This was not going to be pretty.

As boarding progressed it was obvious this flight was not going to be full but that didn’t matter to me much. Channel 9 didn’t sound like it was active, so I asked one of the crew if they could ask the captain to turn it on. I was informed it was and after a bit of playing we got it to come on. What more could an avgeek want. A comfy seat in the pointy end, live ATC on the audio and the chance to spot at a busy airport on the taxi out.

We eventually pushed back from the gate and as we got clearance to taxi it was obvious on Ch9 we were not going anywhere anytime soon as we had missed our slot, we were heading to the penalty box. Where we sat for about 5 or more minutes. A string of United and American Eagle CRJs were cleared infront of us. We were told to clear our holding spot and move and do a 180 turn to get out of the way. The pilots did not like this at all and protested to which they were promptly told to do as told by Chicago ground control. As we were doing this we got our paperwork and were given clearance to the active.

Again we held, longer and longer, but no word from ATC as to why. But to the front I saw 2 CH46 Bullfrogs take off. Thats a bit wierd what are they doing here, wait Obama is in town. Yep sure enough 2 minutes later, Marine One takes off (at least one of the VH3’s was Marine One). Twice now I have seen Air Force One… score.

A few minutes later we were cleared for takeoff and on our way. We roared past the VC25A (Air Force One) hiding off to the side and went airborne heading over Lake Michigan. Since they were going to play the same movies I got stuck into the trip report waiting for the “snack” service (which is really a light dinner). Options were again a Turkey Sandwich or Chicken this time over Pasta Salad. Chicken it is, but no offer of nuts 🙁

As the flight cruised on I worked on the trip report some more while listening to channel 9 and tried emptying the aircraft of diet coke with lime. As we approached the mid flight point I could hear lots of deviations for weather and as we were cleared to descend we were told it was gonna get bumpy. It wasn’t that bad really and to be honest i’ve been through worse. It was a long long slow descent almost an hour as we were held over New York. Eventually those lovely words “United 692 cleared to land” were said.

We landed and a quick taxi to the gate and everyone was in a mad rush to get off the flight it seemed. I wasn’t in a world of a rush so lolligagged a bit before heading to the baggage claim area and by the time I had my jacket on my suitcase was out. I quickly dialed the limo company followed instructions and waited for the car. After a while, eventually found the driver (what do you expect when every car company uses black Lincoln Town Cars) and I was headed to my hotel, the Element Time Square West.

by ·Comments Off on Crazy++

Wow
 what a time San Francisco has brought me. I pretty much have been on the go non stop since I got into San Fran on Saturday. After an amazing breakfast in what is known as the “Tenderloin” area of San Fran it was go go go. I ended up at Dotties True Blue CafĂ© for breakfast (where I was blogging from on Saturday morning) and it was an amazingly good breakfast. What I didn’t realize at that point was that the “Tenderloin” is the kinda dodgy part of town
 woops! After breakfast I got out of dodge pretty quick and got myself down to the Visitors centre and worked out a plan of action for my 2 full days in San Fran.

I ended up with the following plan after working out what I wanted to see etc.

Day 1 – Saturday – Hop On Hop Off tour to get the general city tour, Golden Gate bridge etc, then Ferry Building for Lunch (farmers markets o yeah), then also along that area to the Street Car Museum, Fishermans Wharf, SS Jeremiah O Brien, More fishermans Wharf, Boudin Bakery Tour, Ghiradelli Square, try and fit a Cable Car in, meet up with a friend and then over to the Mission District for some dinner. Pretty full on first day.
Day 2 – Sunday – Yosemite Day Tour – Full Day Booked with Extranomical Tours
Day 3 – Monday – Cable Car Museum, Filbert St (steepest St in San Francisco), Lombard St (Crookedest St in San Francisco), Coit Tower, Union Square, Macys and Burger Bar for lunch to Celebrate my Birthday with my friend Brad), Then Market St shops (checking out the big name stuff like Ferrari Store etc) then a quick repack of my bag etc before going to see the Giants play at AT&T Park.
Day 4 – Tuesday (today) – Alcatraz in the morning, then out to the airport to change hotels as we are staying out here tonight then an afternoon of plane spotting, feeding the Avgeek in me.

It was a damn full on stay in San Francisco but I loved every minute of it. The Golden Gate bridge was crazy as hell, the wind is insane as you cross that bridge, I felt like I was going to get blown off the top of the open top bus. But it was an amazing site. The food at the Ferry Building was amazing for a farmers market. Had a fresh cut air dried salami, tomato chutney and arugala (rocket) sandwhich . It was delicious with every bite. Top that off with some organic yellow baby carrots and some fresh grape tomatos picked that morning, what more could you ask for. Seeing the SS Jeremiah O’Brien was cool as well, this is a “Liberty Ship” built in WW2 for the transport of goods across the Atlantic and is still in operation today. It landed in Normandy on Dday+4 so it was a good prelude to my upcoming venture to Normandy in a few days.

I tried that afternoon to get on a cable car back to the hotel, failed after waiting 30 mins and still couldn’t get one to stop as they were all full, so jumped on the bus. Thankfully the hotel is right next to the start of the California line so I jumped on it that afternoon when I went to visit my friend Chris, an old buddy from back in the www.radioactive.net.au days. After visiting Chris, since Brad didn’t come with me I knew I had a chance to finally get some good Mexican in after being denied that priveledge really so far. I went to Tacqeria La Cumbre in the mission district. This was shown on Man V Food for their Giant Burritos and apparently where the whole Mission style Mexican started from. This place did not disappoint and I had an amazing Carne Al Sada (steak) burrito filled with Meat, Rice, Black Beans, Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese, Guacamole and Pico De Gallo. It was yum++++++ By the time I got back to the hotel that night it was after 10pm and I had left at 730am that morning.

Yosemite was an amazing day. Got to go out and visit the National Park, hiking in the Giant Sequoia trees, getting to see and experience the beautiful surroundings, I can see why people go there, the views are amazing. The rock climbing at places like El Capitain and North Face would be mental, won’t catch me there. Took about 400 photos or so that day.

Then yesterday. Another early morning wake up to make sure I get some fitness in, before heading out to the Haight Ashbury district for Breakfast. Again my pre planning had failed somewhat as I had not checked what time the place opened only that it was open that day and unfortunately it did not open for several hours after we were standing in front of the store. Woops. This was meant to be an amazing place for breakfast. Instead we ended up going to a place called “The Pork Store” a good little whole in the wall style diner that was AMAZING! Turns out it is the most popular breakfast spot in the whole district. Thankfully we were there on a Monday morning and not on a weekend where the lines can go for almost 2 hours for a table! We were 2 of only 10 people in there at the time.

Again a full on morning exploring the city and also managed to send home all the clothes I had bought in Oregon ($1500 worth of stuff condensed into a 12kg box). Walked up the steepest street (well more like ran up the steps) and then ran down the crookedest street). I then hiked it half way to Coit Tower, got the bus up the incline then walked back down again to where I had just got the bus from and got over to Union Square for lunch with my friend Brad who was treeting me to lunch at Burger Bar for my birthday. Burger Bar is the restaurant run by Hubert Keller. He is a famous TV and Celebrity chef over here in the USA and I have seen him numerous times on Top Chef and Top Chef Masters. Good enough for me! The Burger was AMAZINGLY good. I didn’t go to over the top just a good Bacon, Cheese Burger but I went with Pepper Bacon & Provolone Cheese with some Buttermilk Onion Rings. Yum yum yum. The afternoon was spent exploring the shops but the only thing I bought was a jersey for the game at AT&T park.

The baseball game was great, the Giants lost (of course) but I had a good time, albeit in the Freezing cold as we were in the Bleacher seats and the stadium is right on the bay, with the wind blowing in off the bay it was freaking cold, like ice cold. We left at the top of the 8th inning cause the giants were losing and my hands were going blue. Still had an awesome time.

This morning I got to visit Alcatraz (albeit a little rushed as we had to check out by 12) but I still got to see and do the things I wanted there. The island is crazy as hell. I was amazed at how bare bones it is really. I was shocked. But in saying that a lot of the old signs etc are still there and it is in amazingly good condition. They look after the place really well. Back into the city I went to start my trek by Cab, Bart & Bus to my hotel for tonight here in Millbrae. I wanted to get some plane spotting in as I knew I would have the chance to get some good stuff and it wasn’t to far from the hotels around the Airport. Plus I have to be at the airport around 730-8am in the morning. So airport hotel makes it easier.
Managed to take 1500 photos in the 2 hours I was out spotting but got 2 more A380s to my collection (Lufthansa & Air France, leaving only Korean remaining) and some special liveries like the Alaskan Hawaii Birds, lots of old Battleship grey uniteds, a special US Airways scheme I had never seen and the Air Berlin A330 from Berlin (where else). A great afternoon really! So here I am, totally beat, doing my laundry and blogging. Will sleep well tonight as tomorrow I start the crazy part of my trip. Its time to start getting some miles under my belt!

Current Location: Millwood Inn & Suites, Millbrae, California

by ·Comments Off on Road trippin

So the road trip has come to an end.  Yesterday was a long long day.  I spent about 10 hours on the road with very minimal stops.  It was all easy driving with 80% of it just following I5.  I only had to really do anything once we got double digit miles from San Fran.  Luckily most of it was easy to navigate as Brad was sleeping instead of navigating.

Due to making good time we did make a late lunch stop in the Napa for a quick sandwhich (love the fact you can buy fresh made to order sandwhiches in supermarkets) and a stop at one random winery.  $10 later and 5 tastes of wine and I’ve ticked another thing off the list.

It gave me a good buzz for the final drive into San Fran.  I was excited!  But before I go through my first impressions of San Fran, let’s discuss gas stations here in the USA.  For some dumb reason you only have two options of payment.  Credit card at the pump or prepaid cash.  When your trying to just fill the tank cash is no good.  So you need to use card.  But the pumps require a 5 digit zip code.  Therefore international cards aren’t accepted.  Some stations will hold your ID and card while you fill, some are cash only.  Typical nonsense.  It made life a little tough at times, but I survived.

San Fran… wow.  The bay is beautiful (well what I saw of it from I80 and the Bay Bridge).  The city is hilly and definately going to work the calves, so going to focus on my legs in the gym for a bit.  I don’t really know what I’m going to see yet, but I should have a better idea later today.  There is a whole foods around the corner from my hotel so I can enjoy good food if need be.  But here is to arriving alive in one piece after 980 miles on the wrong side of the road.

Current Location: Dotties True Blue Cafe, San Francisco
Countries: 3
Canadian Provinces: 2
US States: 3

by ·Comments Off on Shopping & Stress… not the best combo

The title is not the best intro to this post, but i will get to where this is coming from. But first up i left you after 3 nights in Seattle. Our last full day in Seattle, we were going to head to the Museum of Flight in the morning then pretty much had planned on whatever comes to mind the rest of the day.

Well After much to and fro, we decided on Museum of Flight, then a tour of Safeco Field, then off on our own for the rest of the evening. Museum of Flight was going to be good, but rushed as we had to be back in Seattle for the field tour. But I was willing to make that sacrifice. What I didn’t plan on was Brad winning tickets on arrival to tour the new Boeing Bee. A WW2 B17F that was located at the musuem. What a score. The tour was great and i was definately more into it than Brad was.

So a good way to end my #avgeek time in Seattle. I was in heaven. I spent a bit more $$$ in the gift store on some geeky stuff (including a Pan Am Passport Cover!). We headed back to the City to Safeco field and did a tour of the ground which was interesting. After that I left Brad to walk back the 5-6kms back to the hotel. Brad was heading to the Space Needle, i was heading downtown and depending on weather I was going to detour. Detour I did. I ended up at the best kept secret in Seattle.

My new friend Christina had told me about the Columbia Centre as an alternative to the overpriced Space Needle. She was right. This place is not as good of a view (bout 280 degrees compared to full 360) but it is higher (73 floors up) and 1/4 of the price. The cost of admission $5 for adults. The guy on the desk let me in for $3. Couple of tips though. If your thirsty, they have a Starbucks on Level 40 with great views and its free. Also there are no signs to the Skydeck so just head to the lifts and head up, or ask the guy on security (which is what I did).

All in all a fantastic day!

Yesterday we were due to check out of our hotel in Seattle, head across town to the National Car Rental Depot (at the Hilton) and pick up our car. It was time for a Road Trip. We were going to spend the next 3 days driving south to San Francisco. I had never done a road trip of this length before and to be doing it in the USA on the best interstate Road System (in my opinion) and to be doing it on the wrong side of the road. Totally awesome! When picking up the Car i was given 4 choices. Chevy Impala, Chevy Malibu, Nissan Altima or Dodge Charger. Pass, Pass, Pass, HELLO!!

This car is awesome, I love it. Smartkey system means we dont even need to insert a key into any ignition at all, I just keep it in my pocket the whole time! awesome++ Its got all the bells and whistles and makes the drive so easy. What doesn’t help is Portland’s streets. Every street downtown is one way and its a freaking hassle, as some streets wont even allow turns at all, so it was a made house and meant we did not even get to do some stuff and I was majorly stressed trying to navigate and drive as Brad couldn’t read the map we had.

We found a AAA and got a much better map but it still wasn’t the best. But there was a few saving graces in Portland, and I will list them in order of epicness:

1. Voodoo Doughnuts
2. Street Food
3. NO SALES TAX

Lets cover the no sales tax first. This was a good thing, with no sales tax, our $$$ at an epic level it meant one thing. SHOPPING TIME! I had been putting the shopping off for months and months telling myself I can just get it in the USA cheaper. And i was right. For instance I got two pairs of Oakley Sunglasses over here for $300. Back home both sunglasses would set me back a total of $500. with the conversion i will probably only pay about $280 or so. AWESOME++

Picked up some football jerseys and a heap of running gear both Nike and Under Armour. I also bought 2 pairs of shoes (throwing away one pair that ive been wearing so far) and a few polo shirts. Add this into the tshirts and other stuff I bought at Boeing and a few other things, this has been awesome so far. Also picked up a new pair of Noise Cancelling headphones and lots of other small things. Love it! total spend in Oregon… $1500.

Now we come to the food side of things. Lets discuss the Street Food. Some people think the street food capital of the USA is Portland, and I had high hopes. It did not dissapoint. In our little harshness of trying to find something quickly while negotiating the Portland Streets, I just picked one little area where there is a heap of Food Trucks/Carts and just went for it, I’ll eat whatever is dished out to me. Well I scored. Ended up seeing a sign that said “Voted Portlands Best Burger” at a cart called “Happy Grillmore”. That seems like 2 wins to me. An awesome burger AND an awesome name. They had a Blackbean & Chipotle Vegie Burger. YUM! and it was DELICIOUS! Street Food FTMFW!

The last thing Portland has going for it. Voodoo Doughnuts. I do not need to say much more than this place makes THE BEST DOUGHNUTS EVER. I mean it. I don’t care what anyone else says, these doughnuts are like Crack. I had a doughnut that was recommended by the server as her favourite called the “Old Dirty Bastard” which was a cake Doughnut, with Chocolate Frosting, Crushed Oreos and Peanut Butter. OMFG best thing known to man. It should be just called “edible crack” I wasn’t going to go for a run this morning but after the doughnut/crack last night, I just had to! Only ran 3.8km which is lower than what i normally do, but me no care.

Today after the last bits of shopping we continued on the Road Trip south along US101 along the Oregon Coast. It was beautiful and the driving was good. Lots of beautiful scenery. We made a pact to just find a small diner for lunch and go for a road trip staple, PIE.

Had a piece of Very Berry Pie in Reedsport at a place called “Dan’s”. They advertised the best pie in town. It was worth it. Diet go to hell. I can afford it. Unfortunately though we miscalculated and could of continued on past Roseburg this evening (we had a prepaid rate) and gone for either Medford or hell even somewhere over the border. This little Miscalculation means we have about roughly 500 miles to cover tommorrow along I5 and that means skipping Napa Valley. So one thing on my list has now been cancelled unfortunately, but my diet thanks me for skipping the wine.

Anyway time for bed, very early morning tomorrow. Keep an eye out for Tweets under the hashtag of #roadtripI5 tommorrow.

by ·Comments Off on Trip List Update

Well I thought i should pull my finger out and Update what I have completed on my trip list. So here it is.

Photos of each thing will come once I have started uploading photos (probably at the end).

1. Drink a glass of French Champagne in France
2. Drink a glass of Champagne onboard a long haul flight (Onboard Air NZ Flight AKL>LAX)
3. Run Through Central Park
4. Pastrami on Rye at Katz’s Deli NYC
5. In’n’Out Burger (LAX In N Out)
6. Drive a car in the USA
7. Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge
8. Ride a “Bullet Train” in Japan
9. Hot Dog from a Cart (Japadog in Vancouver)
10. Food from a Truck in Portland
11. Sushi for Breakfast at Fish Markets in Tokyo
12. Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
13. Visit Borough Market
14. Fly Upper Deck on an A380
15. Visit Hiroshima (Japan)
16. Visit Normandy (France)
17. Touch the Berlin Wall
18. Ride a Train on 3 Different Continents
19. Sit in a Backwards Facing Airline Seat
20. Plane Spotting in San Francisco, Vancouver & Narita (Vancouver Completed)
21. Catch a “Flying Fish” in Seattle
22. Visit Alcatraz
23. Ride a Cable Car in San Francisco
24. Go Hiking in the Rockies (Went Hiking in Jasper) 25. Ride a Bike
26. Go White Water Rafting in Canada (Jasper as well)
27. Visit a Location where Macgyver was filmed (Several Locations Around Vanvouer)
28. Eat a Celebrity/Celebrity Chef’s Restaurant
29. Eat Chicken Rice in Singapore
30. Buy Clothes at a store in New York
31. Visit Macys
32. Go to the Rodeo in Canada
33. Drink a Glass of Wine in the Napa Valley
34. Visit a Brewery (Jasper Brewing Company)
35. Visit a Temple
36. Visit a Cathedral
37. See the Mona Lisa
38. Make new friends (All the time on Holidays)
39. Go Airline Lounge Hopping (Brisbane & LAX so far)
40. Try to Meet a Flyertalker/Milepointer
41. Do Something Crazy (Ziplining In Whistler)
42. Go to a Baseball Game
43. Eat a Voodoo Donut
44. Visit the UN
45. Walk up the Eiffel tower
46. Wasabi Kit Kat
47. Buy Football Jerseys in the USA
48. Visit “China”
49. Buy a Fake Rolex
50. Spot a Retro Jet
51. Pay Tribute to a Flyertalk/Blog idol
52. Write a Trip Report (Underway)
53. See a Broadway Musical/Show
54. Meet up with some “Tweeps” (2 so far @pacificairphoto & @futureofflight)
55. Go to a Whole Foods Market – Top Chef Style (Seattle)
56. Eat a “Giant Cob of Corn Husk on” at Calgary Stampede
57. Eat a Canadian Baked Potato at Calgary Stampede (Did Not Complete)
58. Spend the entire day at Calgary Stampede all the way to closing time
59. Walk the Highline in NYC
60. View a Ceremony that not many people ever get to experience
61. Eat in Restaurant that was famous for a General/President who ate/stayed there
62. Eat a “Concrete”
63. Visit a Crumpler Store Overseas
64. Drink some Siphon Coffee (Seattle Coffee Works)
65. Tell a Good Looking Stranger Its “My Birthday” on My Birthday in New York City
66. Go Spotting in LAX with a Travel Blogger (Went Spotting with Brett from Cranky Flier)
67. Eat a Dennys Grand Slam (Canadian Grand Slam in Kamloops)
68. Find the Most Random Food at the Stampede & Eat It (Mac & Cheese Pizza)
69. Pretzel M&Ms (Eaten at the movies in Seattle)
70. Climb a Mountain (Grouse Mountain)

by ·Comments Off on I still

God I love this city.  I really do.  Seattle was always going to be the city that I would move to if I got my green card.  Even though I didn’t I will try not to let that dampen my mood of the city.

This city is like heaven to me.  Here’s a few reasons why:
* Pikes Place Market – fresh market produce, gorgeous artisinal foods, atmosphere, pure awesomeness
* Boeing
* Coffee (not just starbucks)
* Boeing
* Beautiful scenery
* Museum of flight
* Boeing

Ok so I slipped Boeing in there a lot but its a big thing for me in this city.  One of the reasons I love this city is because it is heaven for avgeeks.  Where else can you openly be an avgeek and not be ashamed.  But, its not for everyone and frankly I don’t care haha.

After we got off the train on Saturday we had an easy day planned that first day.  Bit of orientation, pick up some essentials and the movies to see Captain America.  I also got to wipe off one of my trip list items.  First thing we did after getting some sim cards was head to Seattle Coffee Works where I could get a cup of Syphon Coffee.  The experience was fantastic.  The whole process was a great spectacle.  Best cup of coffee I have ever had.

That evening we caught up with Cory for some dinner and a movie as Captain America was showing as it was released the day before.  Movie was awesome but that’s for another day.

Yesterday was a late start after our free breakfast at the hotel. O how good it was to get a bowl of cereal.  Pure bliss.  We hit Pikes Place Market in the morning, it was great.  I spent the morning grazing over amazingly good fruit and veg (cherries are definately in season right now).  I got to tick off item list number 2 for seattle as I got to catch a flying fish at the Pikes Place Fish Market.  It was an awesome experience.  Also got to add some gum to the chewing gum wall.  It was gross but awesome.

In the afternoon it was getting pretty warm so we retreated to the hotel to cool off.  It was here that I found out that there was a wholefoods store closs to our hotel.  Time to tick off another item.  I scooted over to the store and started to explore.  My god it was awesome.  I was astounded by the sheer scale of the fresh food on offer.  I was going to return for lunch that’s for sure.

For dinner again we were going to meet up with cory but I had tweeted out for recommendations for dinner.  One that came back was the Steelhead Diner.  So with approval from the others we booked it in.  It was fantastic, and with an indulgent few scoops of local ice cream for dessert I was spent.

Today was a big day for me, it was time to free the avgeek, to let it fly with free abandon, to hell with what others think.  Off to the Boeing Factory and the Future of Flight.  It was also another chance to meet up with a tweep as Sandy who looks after the @futureofflight account was friends with a twitter friend of mine, so with a bit of organising I got to meet another “tweep” and get my photo taken.

The tour was great, even if u can’t take photos.  So many sites to see, so many sites to spot.  787s from JAL, ANA, Air India, China Southern, Royal Air Maroc and Etheopian. 747s from Lufthansa, Cargolux, Cathay Pacific and Korean and lots more.

I missed two take offs but you can’t have it all.  I spent up big in the stores ($130) on lots of geeky goodies.  After lunch at Wholefoods and a coffee from a donut shop that Obama frequented we checked out the Experience Music Project and Sci Fi Museum.  It was great to get in and finally see these museums and then I did a Duck Tour around Seattle as well.

Tomorrow its off to the Museum of Flight and also a tour of Safeco Field hopefully and then Wednesday we hit the road.. jack.

Current Location: Holiday Inn Express Seattle City Centre

by ·Comments Off on Trip Report – Around the World on a Star – Vancouver to Seattle – 23rd July

Up at OMG o clock today for the first Journey South on this trip. So far I have headed east, north and now headed south (no West Travel yet). But this was not to be a tough one, this was to be a relaxing journey today. This was also the start of my journey with Brad really. We had been on contiki together but from this point on, it was just Me & Him.

With morning formalities out of the way and a quick trip to reception to get some credit card statement issues out of the way, we were in a cab heading for the station. Thats right, I said station. Heading south over the border today by Train. Rather than fly the 20 minute segment and spend hours in security at the airport, we had planned on the Cascades south to Seattle. The train was an easy choice, with AAA discount, a nice big comfy business class seat for $12 extra and free wifi, i mean seriously, why not!!

We had picked up tickets nice and early for cheap ($45 one way in business) so the costs were pretty good. With pre clearance of immigration at the station in Vancouver it meant that the turn around would be quicker rather than sitting at the border for a train load of people. Easy as!! We arrived at the station in the pre dawn twilight to see half the terminal either shut or under construction…. damn. Looks like a final breakfast of Tim Hortons. O well.

Walked into Pacific Station and saw that nothing was open other than MacDonalds so while Brad waited, I ducked over to Tim Hortons to grab a coffee and some breakfast/snack supplies for the train. When returned, still nothing so time to fill out the Customs forms and wait.

Amtrak Cascades – Train 513
Vancouver to Seattle
0640-1105
Business Class – Car 2 – Seat 5A

Boarding: 0530
Departed: 0655
Arrived Border: 0800
Departed Border: 0830
Arrival: 1115

Around 0525 a line formed around the customs area for documentation check. This looked about right so we kinda snuck over into the line a head of a few people (suckers) and headed to the check in area. Boarding began shortly after with Business Class line given preference into the documentation check and we were amongst the first group through immigration.

Was grilled at immigration about absolute random topics but meh, didn’t care and the security screening was non existant. No taking out of laptops, no shoes off, no belts off, fully intact dignity at all times! That wont last for sure. Once through “security check and baggage screening” you are funneled down a chainlinked area (since you are technically in the United States now and out of Canada towards the train.

Checked luggage was collected directly at the train itself (didn’t realise this earlier) and we headed for our seats, all the way at the other end of the train, meh what can you do! A little bit of walking never hurt anyone. As we approached our seats we dropped our gear, and i went for a little walk around to suss out the train, take a few snaps for the report and then came back and fired up the laptop thanks to the power port at the row and then logged into the wifi ready to do some work.

Managed to get a number of things done on this train journey, managed to organise some tours/attractions for the coming week or two, managed to work out other things and also enjoy the ride south in peace, quiet and gentle rocking motion. We ended up departing late but had been working for so long on the wifi, never really noticed apart from the few lurches as we crossed switcing points.

Pretty soon we were smashing our way south on the train at speed. The cascades went a fairly decent clip so that was great. Once ticket check was done we were free to “move about the cabin” so I jumped up and grabbed a coffee as we were warned that once we got to the border it was “sit in your seat and DONT MOVE” time and they would give a 30 minute warning. I was in the line to get coffee when the 30 minute warning was given, and the 20 and 10 minute warning… dear lord could this line move any slower. Thankfully i was just getting liquids and not trying to eat my breakfast at the border!!

Business class gives you a $3 discount on all drinks and food and they accept Canadian Note Currency at a 1:1 ratio of CAD:USD so that was a good way to get rid of some of the smaller notes. A coffee, water & juice with $3 discount came to $3.25. When asked to wait for change I said keep it and scurried back to my seat. With the border fast approaching it was time to hit the bathroom as well before it closed at the border crossing.

We arrived at the border with pretty stern warnings of not touching technology equipment (laptops, phones etc) or moving or really even breathing until customs had inspected the train fully. First customs officer into our carriage was carrying a massive backpack with arm scanner (probably looking for some form of explosives or something), 2nd one on was carrying a geiger counter by the looks of it and the 3rd was grilling people and collecting Customs forms. With our carriage done, laptops went back on, so I joined them and got back to reading stuff.

Within 30 minutes the train was done, a blast of the trains horns and we were rolling out of the border. Hello USA! Pretty soon we were at speed againt hurtling down the Washington coastline headed for seattle. The Cascades can get up to a fair clip and it makes it just nice and comfortable, with a coffee or drink and free wifi, I am in heaven. Even had a stash of Tim Hortons Tim Bits for a sneaky snack onboard.

Pretty soon we were approaching Everett (no sign of any 787s etc) and that meant we were getting close to seattle, so with the stop before seattle made we had picked up a bit of time since we were running about 20 mins late at that point but with some good signals and plenty of schedule padding, they were announcing a departure from Seattle on time.

We arrived around 1115 or so, and they were already starting to turn the train around for the further south journey and restocking once we barely even pulled up to the station. It was off and into another Station that looked like a construction site. Crazy. Bags took quite a while and then we were out, through the taxi touts, having to tell Brad to keep on walking through them, dont stop, out to the metered taxis. Soon enough we were hurtling along the elevated Waterfront I5 north to our hotel near the Seattle Centre.

by ·Comments Off on V-Town

God I love Vancouver. It is one of those cities i could easily live in. I mean seriously, why wouldn’t you. The city is amazing. Unlike the first few days pre tour, i had a decent amount of time to explore the city this time and do heaps of stuff, and I was going to enjoy doing it 😀 I had a few things planned but other than that it was all good to just explore and do random things.

Of the things I wanted to do, the main thing was the Grouse Mountain Grind. Why catch up a Gondola up a mountain when I can challenge myself to a grueling trip to the top on foot. Commonly reffered to as the “Vancouver Stairmaster” this was going to be fun for me. One of the girls on the Tour Christina was up for doing it as well, my day looked up as I would have some company rather than doing it alone.

The Grind was great, even in the cold temperatures (8c) and the wet with cloud everywhere. I still managed to have fun doing it. It was not easy, step after step up we went. It was done fairly well though the steps were fantastically set up with lots of stone steps along with wooden as well with only a small percentage of dodgy looking steps.

The time on the Grind was 1h20m47s. A great achievement for me and christina. It was a great feeling at the top to have concurred the mountain. But with so much cloud and fog at the top, it was not worth sticking around as you could not see anything, so I came down the mountain and ended up working my way back to Vancouver on the Seabus (like a ferry pretty much).

The other days in seattle were spent just enjoying the outdoors and either catching up with friends or exploring the city and doing a little bit of shopping. With plenty of canadian dollars leftover, it was good to know that I could just buy whatever I wanted without an issue. I even sent home 2 boxes of souveneirs so far at a cost of $177 CAD. Ouch :/ Might have to curtail the souveneir collecting a little…. NAH!

During my time in Vancouver we did some special things. One of them included a nice dinner at Tojo’s Sushi. A tour buddy, Cory, was organising a dinner at this special sushi restaurant that everyone raved about so I just had to go. It was an amazing night, now it was not cheap at all ($85 each including drinks for 7 people) but to be honest, I did not care. The food was amazing, the company great and I had a fantastic time spoiling myself the night before the Grind. We also trekked out to La Casa Gelato out in the inner suburbs around Vancouver. This Gelateria has over 218 flavours out daily out of a range of 518 flavours they offer. CRAZY! it was great. Some of the sampled options (you can try as many as you want) included Curry Peanut Butter, Chilli Chocolate and Vegemite, yeah thats right, vegemite!

Yesterday on my final day in Vancouver, well I had a great day planned. The Aviation Geek in me demanded some time out in the open, it wanted to be released. Thanks to twitter there is a giant collective of #avgeeks around the world. One of them who I have mentioned in the past Leighton (@pacificairphoto) offered to take me out to YVR (Vancouver Airport) and let me do some spotting and was going to make the day special. What I didn’t realise was that the day we were going spotting was also the day of the Vancouver Airport 80th Birthday celebrations! AWESOME!!!

Special events were being held around the airport and i ended up taking around 1700 photos while out there. I shouted Leighton lunch at the Flying Beaver bar which is part of the Seaplane Terminal down on the River. It was a great lunch spot, with good food, good company and lots of Seaplanes coming and going around us.

I also caught up with my friend Trista who took me up to the top of the Harbour Centre (for free thanks trista!) and we had a good catch up for a couple of hours over coffee and random shopping. All in all a great time. I was pleasantly suprised at how great Vancouver was, it is a city i could get used to and if my friend Chantelle has anything to do with it, it may be possible. She put the idea in my head to apply for my Canadian work visa. I dunno if I will but we shall see.

Managed to tick off more things on my list including a Bike Ride, Plane Spotting and the first of the Train trips. More on the train trip in the trip report (later tonight probably while I do my washing). Farewell Canada… i will be back, not sure how long for but stay tuned!

Current Location: Onboard Amtrak Cascades Train 809 – Bellingham, Washington
Countries: 3
Canadian Proviences: 2
US States: 2

by ·Comments Off on Cowboys, Country Music & Beer

When my friend Brad made the off to do this tour, stampede was going to be my big big reward to myself. How could it not be. If you haven’t heard of the Calgary Stampede before, well think of a country rodeo, then add in a heaping dose of crack and you have what is described as the greatest outdoor show on earth.

We left Banff pretty late morning allowing for a good rested morning, before what was sure to be the reason people were coming on this tour. We got into Calgary around 12 and it was evident the party atmosphere was not going to just be at Stampede Park. The main mall was full of bars and restaurants in the middle of the street, live music, lots of BBQ on offer. Looking good so far. Did a bit of shopping to finish out my cowboy gear (shirts mainly as already had my hat and wasn’t getting boots).

The afternoon was spent pretty chilled before we headed off around 730 to our first big Stampede Party at Ranchmans. The night was fantastic, lots of quality “talent” everywhere, lots of good company and plenty of fun. I bailed a bit early to make sure I fully enjoyed the next day, but not before watching a number of people on the mechanical bull.

Stampede day came along. The 17th July, the final day of the Calgary Stampede. I had a good work out in. the morning to make sure I was fully clear and ready to go. Light breakfast so as to leave room for the crazy and awesome food to come. Once everyone was all kitted out in their cowboy best (some went all out) we headed off to Stampede on the tram. The ride was short and my anticipation was evident.

A few photos at the gate and then it was through the gate. First stop a guest services booth to grab a map and directions to a few stops. The day flew by in a flurry of random events and fun things. I got to test drive some GMC vehciles including a GMC Sierra 3500, Camaro Convertile and a Cadillac CTS-V, all for free. Also got my photo taken with a proper RCNP mountie, replicating a draft horse pull and also while wearing some helicopter pilot gear.

The cowboy part of the day was fantastic. The weather was bright blue sky, lots of sun so they had turned it on. The day looked perfect. Our seats where in the sun so lots of sun burn expected but who cares. The afternoons events included Steer and Bronc riding, Ladies Barrel racing, calf tieing and the bareback events. I didnt stay till the major finals of the rodeo events as i was turning to lobster pretty quick, so escaped for a while.

The evening show was the chuckwagon races. This is not what you are thinking. The chuck wagons are designed purely for races and only look slightly similar to the old version used back in the day. The races were hugely competitive and absolutely fantastic. The people are fanatical about the sport as well. There may have been some betting on the races in the stands around our seats 😉 After the final race was done, the tropheys presented (to much fanfare and explosions of course) the big finale show was put on. This was definitely a lot different to what was expected by everyone. The first thing was that it was huge. Massive does not give it justice. The stage took up most of the ring area and it had several levels and floating spaces. CRAZY!!! Then there was the style of the show. It was a lot more artsy and storyline ish a la Cirque de Soleil. But it was good, very well done and the fireworks at the end
 FANTASTIC way to end the night.

Now we come to one of the things I was looking forward to. The crazy ass food! Now I had a few beers (first beers in like almost a year) and then here are a few highlights of the food from the day that I consumed
 There will be full details in photos when I upload the photos:
* Moowich (Ice Cream Sandwhich)
* Pulled Pork Sandwhich with home made BBQ Sauce
* Deep Fried Pickles with Blue Cheese Dressing
* Wagon Wheel Cookie with Milk
* Clamato Juice (Clam & Tomato Juice)
* Wagon Wheel & 2% Milk for $1 (Cookies & Milk)
* 2 Scoops Ice Cream – Stampede Breakfast & Beer for My Horses (Pancakes, Maple Syrup, Bacon & Beer Flavoured)
* 2 Muffins bigger than I have ever seen before for $1 (that’s total)
* Corn on the Cob
* Mac & Cheese Pizza

It was an absolutely random day but I loved every minute of it. Now we are back on the road heading back to Vancouver. Today was spent on a bus pretty much with a long ass road day. The day has been spent getting over the day yesterday, trying to be healthy again to make up for yesterday (although we had an ice cream stop again today and it was GOOD, ps Orange & Licorice flavoured ice cream is awesome), but I will keep running with the fitness level up. Need to tackle a big hill trek on Wednesday.

Current Location: Sandman Inn & Suites Vernon – Vernon, BC

by ·Comments Off on Mountains, Snow & Ice..

Now that I have some free time it is probably a good idea to give you guys a full on update since it has been several days since a decent one. Internet has been totally unreliable the last 4 days but then again it has been a mixture of crappy hotels and then rooms so far from the hotspot its not funny.

Jasper was great, I had a fantastic time playing up in the mountains with the hiking etc and then we headed to Banff via the Columbia Ice Fields. All I can say is WOW. I had never been to a Glacier before and holy cow was it awesome. I loved it!! Got to experience how a Glacier is formed and exists and that was great, plus driving up onto the Glacier in an Ice Explorer Vehicle was totally cool. It was FREAKING COLD though.

After the Glacier we went straight to the Helicopter point and i decided to drop a large chunk of $$$ and do a 25 min Wilson Glacier Helicopter Flight. It was well worth it and managed to take 530 photos in the 25 mins (thats right roughly 1 shot ever 2-3 seconds). The scenery with the mountains was absolutely unreal and blew my mind. After the helicopters it was back on the bus and off to Banff. We had a good time that day and was expecting a big night in Banff but to be honest I have been enjoying the relaxation and not really up for partying every night.

For instance in Banff i was craving some ice cream and after a big day of movement, decided to just indulge, but by the time I had finished, I was sleepy! So gave in and ended up ditching the group and heading back to the hotel (turns out it got VERY messy). Banff was unreal! Again more mountains, lots of hiking and exploring, a few highlights from my free day there. Got up early and went for a run up Tunnel Mountain, managed to get about 2k before totally running out of breath and having to turn around and walk back, ashamed! The Gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain was great, and the 2k walk at the top was even better!

I hiked down from the Gondola to the Fairmont Hotel. This hotel from the 20s was built Chateau style and is absolutely stunning (can’t wait to compare it to Lake Louise) and made for something different. Managed to explore the village of Banff (it is definately only really a village) while scouting out gear for the Stampede.

That evening we had a Horse Ride and Steak Fry optional. Now to give you a bit of info, I have never really liked horses. I rode one when I was like 10 and a scout, during the ride I fell off while the horse was trotting down hill, not a good thing, and have always had problems with them since. So since I have been trying to combat these issues for a while now, well you can see where this is going. I signed up to do the Horse ride but was quite hesitant. I jokingly commented that I wanted a horse that was “almost dead” in the hopes that it would be so placid I would not need to worry.

Well that didn’t happen. I got a horse by the name of “Target.” He was ok on the way out to the campsite for dinner, he was a bit stand offish at times, ignoring commands etc, but all in all he did as he was told when needed. Dinner was great (the beans phenomenal) but on the way back, things started going differently. I was one of the last horses to be remounted and by this time the corral was jam packed with people and horses and target did not seem to like this one bit. He was pushing his way around, going crazy and all the time making me more and more nervous.

No matter what I did, he just did not want to listen at all. Several times I had to yank so hard on the reins I was thinking I was going to rip his head off, but he just ignored it. In the end he went crazy as and one of the guides had to come up, hold him still and calm him down while I got off and then refused to get back on. I had had enough! They offered me other horses but by that stage I was in full on panic attack mode and just decided to walk. Fuck it, I’m going home. I was jittery as all hell. The walk did me good, It was great to get out and hike some more, hell I even trail ran the last 1km back to the stables.

After that we had a beach party at the hostel next door to the hotel, but to be honest I was still a bit all over the place, so made an appearance at the party for 30-40 mins and then bailed to calm down and get a good nights sleep.

But now we come to the whole reason for this trip (and I will cover it more in depth with a post Calgary update). I am sitting here in Calgary. The whole reason I came on this tour was for the stampede, and now that reality is possible. All bets are off today. Mal will eat and drink and damn sure put a dent in the hard work I have done over the last 18 months, but FUCK IT! I deserve it! Here is to an awesome day… YEE HAW!!!

Current Location: Sandman Hotel Calgary Downtown – Calgary, Alberta
Countries: 3
Canadian Provinces: 2
US States: 1