The Wahlfahrt Mobile wheels have stopped turning...

... 100 Days the road have finally come to an end, on the day America chooses its direction for the next four years.




Obviously as a non US citizen, I couldn't par take in the process of deciding which man is fit for the job as the leader of the free world... However my Travel buddy, Andreas is... So naturally he cast his vote...




I must say its been one hell of a journey of almost 15,000 miles across the 'greatest country in the world'*
There's been ups and downs, rain and sun, early mornings and late nights, beer and coffee, Romney and Obama, endless roads and state lines. But I've enjoyed it all, it's been an adventure which is just what I needed...
Earlier in the year before this trip had come to fruition, I was going stir crazy in my job and feeling like I needed a break. Thankfully I got the chance to do something I've always dreamed off, traveling.. I'd always thought I'd see Asia first.. But in some ways I feel like seeing America has really opened my eyes to the world in ways Asia might not have..




I'll be going back to Great Britain soon, and returning to the daily grind.. I'm sure there will be post-traveling blues, but I'm also feeling happy about being back in London.. And who knows, hopefully I'll be posting on this blog again, from another far flung location..
For now, I'm in California and watching the news coverage of the 2012 Elections.. Like most Europeans, I feel more aligned to the Democratic style of governance... But I have a better understanding now why people here align themselves to the various parties.. But the really outstanding memory will be that of how many people across the country feel fed up with both parties.. It really will be interesting to see how people vote today and what direction they feel is right for America..




Sadly my MacBook hard drive has gone kaput, so there will be a delay on posting all the pictures from the trip to Flickr... Check my instagram for my daily snippets of where and what I saw along the way..
Inoperable to get it fixed once back in the UK, I will ensure I publicise when they go up!
Thanks for reading,
Ady
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Santa Monica,United States

The American Morning Ritual.... Coffee.

The coffee bean, a humble little seed but one that provides the average American a way to start their day.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't aware of the American stereotype of requiring coffee in the morning, and without said 'cup of joe' the day would be a disaster. As i come to the end of this trip and having spent copious amount of time in Starbucks' all along the way, it's become evidently clear how bad the addiction is.

My travelling buddy on this trip is one such addict, who has almost without fail required that morning shot of caffeine induced elixir that allows him to start the day. I myself was never a coffee drinking until last summer.

I was introduced to coffee in the most crudest form. Nestlé instant coffee granules. This is pretty much a non existent substance in the US. However I was quickly shown the way of more authentic espresso coffee, and even invested in my own Italian style Percolator in order to make proper espresso.

I must admit however, that I'd take a proper cup of English Breakfast Tea (Made in a tea pot, of course) over coffee any day. Incidentally this is the reason that brings me to write this post...

So as I was saying, on this trip I've really witnessed the grip of the coffee bean on the American public. Having 'camped' outside many a Starbucks on the way (to utilise the free parking and free wifi mainly) we've witnessed the break of dawn coffee rush that happens across the country.

The main staple of the America coffee diet seems to be plain and simple black filter coffee... The addition of milk or cream generally isn't a high priority it would seem... It's also the most readily available drink I've come across in all cafés, diners, and restaurants.

I often wonder if perhaps the American coffee addiction started with the Boston Tea Party... Sure that event was more down to the protest of being taxed with no representation... But I find it interesting that Great Britain has remained pretty steadfast in its affection for the Tea Leaf, and yet the Americans are generally incapable of making a cup if tea properly.

For any Americans reading this, I feel it's my duty as an Englishman to instruct you on the correct Tea making procedure... Please see the below diagram...

Tea Making Instructions made with Skitch for iPad

For further reading, I advise looking at this: sub.spc.org/San/docs/BS6008.pdf


I have nothing further add.

Once again, thanks for reading my random thoughts and ramblings.

Adrian

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Americaland, United States of Caffeine Addiction.

American Beer, theres more on offer than just Budweiser...

Me on a MicroBrewery Tour in Manchester, NH (Millies Tavern)

Driving across the great distances of the united states is thirsty work. So much so that when we arrive in  a destination, often the first port of call is to the nearest Bar or Pub.

One of the great misconceptions i had before i started this trip, was that i'd be forced to drink the standard beers that america is known for back home in england; Namely - Budweiser. 

It wasn't long after i arrived in New York, when i first tried a great Mexican beer i'd not heard of before - Pacifco. Although not an American Beer, it made me aware that there was plenty of good choice out there... 

Ok, i should really confess something.. living in London for a few years meant that i was able to sample the odd american beer that made its way across the pond, Beers such as "Brooklyn Larger' and 'Blue Moon' are now fairly common on the supermarket shelves these days back home..

Anyway, the reason i write this post now is that the popularity of micro breweries has only really become apparent to me, since we got up to the north east and now the mid west.  

Trinity Brew House, Providence Rhode Island.

I think the flash point for me was just the other day in Omaha, Nebraska. Knowing next to nothing about the state its self or of its brewing capabilities. We'd be visiting friends who lived in Lincoln, but didn't really get much of a chance to explore the town or visit any of the brewpubs/breweries. However upon arriving in Omaha a day later, we had the evening to ourselves and thought we'd check out the bar scene in the Old Market District part of the town.

I started the night with a Miller Hi Life. Odd choice you might think, to mention this in a post about craft and local beers. Well without digressing to much i mention this because whilst in Milwaukee a few days earlier, we went to visit the Miller Brewery (mainly because it was free, and offered a healthy amount of free samples at the end of the tour) We both thought of Miller as one of the 'big boys' who taste like 'piss water'. We were both wrong and pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the 'Champagne of Beers' and what with German heritage of the beer, it now has an equal place in my list of top beers with some of the smaller breweries. 

ANYWAY, we then hit up this Cuban style cigar place... odd place to mention again when talking about beers. Well, they had a small selection of local and german beers. I opted to get a taste of the two beers they had on tap from the Empyrean Brewing Co. One being a Light Beer and the Other a dark porter. 

I've always tended to steer clear of the dark porters, as they tend to be bitter, and not as refreshing.. hence why i never considered even trying a Guinness before. This beer changed everything. The Dark Side Vanilla Porter was amazing, a perfect blend of dark roasted hops and a nice subtle aftertaste of Vanilla. This particular beer was brewing in Lincoln, and the brewery offers free tours, was kind of a shame that i hadn't found this whilst in Lincoln and gone to visit the place were it was crafted!

http://www.empyreanbrewingco.com/beers.html

Upon further investigation it would seem that mid-west and the rest of the states for that matter, are fairly well covered when it comes to small craft type breweries..

Brewery Map of the Mid West

I'm not going to ramble on anymore on the subject, if you want to know more about the whole American brewery scene i'm sure a quick google search will provide adequate answers..

Sadly i think i may have missed my opportunity to bring back some of the delicious Porter to the UK (Plus im not sure how bottled beer handles in a pressurised airplane hold?) so i will have to go hunt down some good UK versions.. and maybe see if i can convince a local brewery to try making it!

Thanks for reading.

Adrian

Chicago: The not so Windy City

Right now, I'm in the van speeding towards Milwaukee. We only spent two nights and a full day in Chicago.

Would have really liked longer, but as we only have about 20 or so days left until the end of the trip, time is precious.

So my take on Chicago - 'A chilled out New York'. We lucked out and were greeted with blue sky's and a very temperate 20C. I knew of two things i wanted to see/do the most. Go up high for a skyhigh view. Take a picture of my reflection in the Cloudgate sculpture.



Both of these were achieved pretty early on in the day. That left me with time to ride around on the elevated subway system. And walk along the Chicago River, and it's many bridges.

I can't help but feel that the city would be at its best in the summer, when the big open spaces are teaming with people, and the beaches on Lake Michigan are rammed to capacity...

Still, I very much enjoyed my time there, we also saw some of the suburban parts of the town, in particular the area around Damen.



Lots of cute little houses, and leafy streets. I could feel at home in that city, for sure.

Location:Chicago, IL

Detroit: From Boom to Bust.

Ask most people in the US and they'll all say the same thing about Detroit. once an opulent city, booming with the wealth that was brought here by the automobile industry. However now it resembles an scene from a film like 28 days later, where the streets are empty and the only human life you see are the old and homeless trudging along dormant streets.

Ok, so I'm painting a pretty desolate picture here, it wasn't quite that bad, but it lived up exactly the picture people had told us when ever we mentioned that we would be visiting there.


I had thought, it's not going to be that bad.. People are just giving it a bad name, because it used to be bad... Surely by now it'll be recovering.. That wasn't the case, this must have been the first time that a city had been the opposite to what I was expecting.

We arrived around midday on Saturday, and headed downtown looking for a bite to eat, thinking it wouldn't be too hard and the place would be a bustling hub of activity. It really wasn't the case.. Having found a place that was open ( in this case the American Coney Island Cafe) we got some food and decided what and where we should go.

The sky was heavy with battleship grey clouds.. Only adding to the overall bleak and depressing feel the city was greeting us with. The decision was then made to go check out the old abandoned Michigan Central Terminus Station. I'd noticed this large looming structure as we'd entered the city, which on the outset looked like an urban explores wet dream. Once we arrived at the old station it soon became clear that entering the building would not only be unsafe, but would also be a bad idea for a number of other reasons.



So while I was off taking pictures, Andreas had made conversation with the organisers of a church funded weekly event for the homeless. They could get donated clothing and a slice or two of hot pizza and something to drink. I retuned from my picture taking excursion and joined the conversation.

There was a number of characters there, who were more than happy to talk to us, being that we were from outside the US many of the questions being asked where about how we do things differently to the US.

The tables and chairs were soon all packed away, and we where left there stood talking to two homeless gentlemen with scarcely another soul in sight. That's when one of them took me aside, and began his plea for a handout.

Knowing full well the contents of my wallet, I tried to remain defiant in that I didn't have anything I could give away. The contents of my wallet being two $20 bills. More often than not, my wallet is empty as I prefer to rely on card payments, which had this been the case it would be an easy get out of jail card. So I relented, I made the mistake of getting my wallet out to 'check' what's inside it... Straight away the guy saw the $20....
"Oh, 20 would REALLY help me out...."
"Ahhh I'd love to help you out with a couple of bucks, but I could really use this 20 myself.."


After a little more two'ing and fro'ing I relented, and handed him the 20. I'd initially thought
"well, he'll be able to get a nice hot meal with that, maybe stay in a shelter tonight.. Perhaps make that money last for month.. Homeless people are resourceful"

So here's the But.

Having taken his picture (which turned out pretty awesome I though) I wondered off again to take some more pictures of things that caught my eye... Whilst doing so, Andreas and the two homeless guys were still talking. Then the older guy who I'd generously donated too, announced
"Well, I'm off to go get my drink on"

I returned and finally the onset of rain was enough for us to be able to end the conversation and head on our merry way.. It wasn't until I told Andreas of my philanthropic deeds that he told me about what the guy had said.

The rest of our time in Detroit was spent sampling some very good local bars and cafés. I had a very tasty Baby Back Ribs in a place called Slo's, some great coffee and Astro Coffee, some tasty brunch sliders at the Green Dot Stables and some tasty beer at Gussolines in Royal Oak.

The two short days we spent in Detroit really were an eye opener into what happens when a city effectively goes bust. I don't think there is any comparison to a city like this in the UK, perhaps in mainline Europe.

Location:Detroit, MI

The Daily Morning Shower: A Long Lost Luxury

Less than 3 months ago I would wake in the morning, have a stretch, yawn and roll out of bed and into the bathroom and have a shower.
This is a modern day luxury of life I took for granted, until the 29th of July this year. I always knew in the back of my mind that the hardest thing to obtain on this trip, would be the ability to start the day feeling fresh.
Over the course of 70 or so days, we've become increasingly resourceful in the methods we've used to get clean. The methods of obtaining running water (sometimes hot) to wash ourselves in has varied wildly.
We started off on our first night landing on our feet by staying with some family friends, who gave us beds, a shower and even a hot meal! The next shower ended up being a hole in the ground with water from a nearby hot spring...Which was surprisingly refreshing in the dry desert heat.

Vegas wasn't an issue, as we ended up staying in a hotel for two nights...
However that would be the last running water we saw again for some time again until Tucson, Arizona.
We stayed at an RV Park, and had the pleasure of clean showers, laundry and a swimming pool in which we sipped cold beers in whilst watching the distant thunder storm light the sky.
New Mexico would not grant us with a drop of water, and so it would be a Motel in Dallas when I could finally experience the wonderful feeling of hot water against my skin.Memphis resulted in a shower courtesy of a 'friend' that Andy made whilst there... But we would wait again till New Orleans before having the opportunity to wake up and have a shower...
At this stage I'm aware that I'm not really telling the most exciting story.. So I'll skip forward to Virginia where we got desperate and needed to find a new method to get a shower.
So apart from holes in the ground, motels, friends houses, RV Parks the other venues we've resorted to have been Gyms.
In Richmomd, we were having no luck with couch surfing requests, nor did we fancy shelling out for a motel.... That's when it occurred to me... Gyms have showers.
We rang around and found a gym, offering a 7 day trial membership. BINGO. After a quick tour of the place, and some paperwork, we were in and able to scrub off the previous few days of funk. Needless to say, this method of free showers, has been repeated more than once... Recently it didn't go exactly to plan, and meant that we paid $10 for a day pass.




I write this blog after having had a free shower at a service plaza on the I-80 where we spent the night on the way to Detroit.
There's still a couple more weeks to go, so who knows what other methods I'll end up adding to the list...

Location:USA

Under the Cover of Darkness, No-one is Safe...

It was Oct 9th 2012. And we had left Gettysburg, heading for Pittsburg.

So i'll admit.. i put my foot down, which is rare. i'd been very obedient so far on the trip and stuck to speed limits like it was a religious cult (which is unlike me).


When i'm driving i picture myself looking like this...

Which i once tried to emulate....

Not quite as good looking as Gosling.. but you get the idea... i need some leather gloves.. 

Anyway.. i digress from the story...

but for some reason tonight i felt like flooring it... so there i was bombing it down this hill like there was a pack of rabid zombies chasing me.

in the mirror i noticed a cars headlights turn on, on the overpass above the road.. i thought nothing off it..

then out of no where this guy is right up my arse, there were two lanes, he could easily have just passed me.

"what a douche bag, this guy is right on my arse!" i joked with Andreas.

"haha.. imagine if it was a cop" i say in jest..

*PULL OVER* The Blues & Twos were then blinding me from the rear mirror.

"SHIIIIIIIIIIIT" i exclaim, in an alarmed manor.

jest turns to mild panic... but he got me, theres no way i can get out of this one...
a minute or two pass. finally the officer comes strolling over to my window.

"License, registration and insurance documents please" he says after giving his name and police department.

"So, you were going pretty fast down there.... i clocked you at 74 in a 55"

"yeaaaaa, i was going slightly fast then wasnt i" i say as i hand over my UK License.

His facial expresion immediately changes the second he see's what he's holding.

"OK" the officer says.. handing back the license as if it was a scrap of paper with the words "i can drive, honest" written on it.

"Look, theres a lot of White Tail deer round here, and you don't want to hit one of them"

"Just keep it slow ok, the limit is 55 and its theres for safety, ok"

"Why are you guys going this way anyway"

"we're heading to Pittsburg" i say

"well, youre better off taking the 525 then getting on the Turn Pike"

"ahh ok, yeah we'll head back and do that.. our sat nav took us this way!"

"ok, just keep it slow round here guys ok, have a good night"

and with that he was back in his car. I certainly couldn't believe my luck.
20mph over the limit, and no ticket...

GOD BLESS THE QUEEN. i muttered under my breath. (i didn't but i wish i had!)

the adrenaline rush had calmed down and we hit the road..
however that wouldn't be the last we saw of the Pennsylvania Highway Patrol...



around about 45 Mins later.. after a pit stop for fuel and food... we had switched seats.. we're now on the 'Turnpike' which is a Toll Road and the speed limit here was 65mph (as we were reminded by our friend earlier)

Andreas was at the wheel, i had lost interest in what speed he had decided to do, as i was busy eating my fried chicken... 

not long after leaving the rest stop... heading past lorries who decided they must overtake on the steepest inclines.. all of a sudden, the back window turns from the dark of night, to the frantic flashing of Blue and Red.


"Ohhhhhh FUCK!" 

i gaze up and realise the gravity of the situation... "Not again" i gasp.

we find a spot to pull over at the slide of a slip road.
We take drastic action. 
We switch seats. (At this point i could well be shooting my self in the foot by admitting this, but what the hay)

The theory being, the English license  clearly put the first cop off issuing a ticket.. so it might work again.
the seconds, turn to minutes, minutes turn to a decade of waiting.

Finally he appears at the window.

"Good evening Sir, License, Registration, and Insurance documents please" after introducing him self...

i present the UK license.. thinking we'll be away quicker than last time.. i offer to show him the international license i got in the UK as well

"yes please, i'll take that too"

I got to find it, and hope that we'll get another good ticking off like last time.. neither of us have a clue where the registration or insurance details are in the tardis like van we're traveling in.

"it's ok i can run it through the computer"

"the reason i stopped you, is because you were doing 84 in a 65" "but i'll go easy, and run it through as 71"

after lots of apologies, and attempts to act innocent, he disappears with my details to 'write up the ticket'


FUUUUUUCK.

so now i've taken a hit for something i wasnt responsible for.. however i saved us a fair amount of ball ache as Andreas's new drivers license is still in CA awaiting postage to him... so he's got a temporary drivers license which also expired... i somewhat doubt that would have gone down so well..

after a new millenium, he hands us the ticket looking pleased with himself... i could see why the other cop didn't want to bother.. it took him a good 20mins to fill it all out... 

I'll end this story with this then: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will see that $130.50 when the US embassy in London pays the £6m in congestion charge fines it owes. 


I for one, have rejoined my old speed-limit abiding cult.