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
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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

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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. 

"Where have you been so far?"

View My USA Travels.. in a larger map

When 4 becomes 3...

Luck was on our side this morning... I think pictures will be enough to explain this...



So to recap. When you own a petrol station (OK, Gas Station) it's important to check you've set the pumps correctly each morning... For you see Supreme petrol isn't usually cheaper than Regular..... Unless you plan to operate your business in a style that generates no profit.



Well, we're having a very nice day as a result...


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Exxon Gas Station, Providence - Rhode Island.

I've Come Full Circle.. Well, Not Quite..

New York, New York. So good they named it twice...

so for those of you that have been following this from the beginning might be thinking "Oh, he's back in NYC. The trip must be over".

Well. You'd be wrong. we are merely just over half way. You see the original plan was to begin here and head west like the settlers of old did those many years ago.

However due to difficulties getting an RV/campervan sorted on the east coast, we ended up starting it there.

So i've been lucky in that i've had two opportunities to visit this wonderful city now. As we were driving in back on Tuesday afternoon i had been thinking to myself.

Will i still be as excited about this city like i was when i first touched down in the states and began my adventure? would the other cities i have visited outshine this metropolis?

The answer: No.
Not. One. Bit.

This city is just one of a kind. Its probably the only US city i can honestly say that holds its own on an International stage. Theres so much going on, so much diversity, so many people. I had always thought the phrase "the city that never sleeps" was an exaggeration. Its really not. Getting on the Subway at 3am, and getting a seat isn't always a safe bet.

I've been asked many times these last few days a fairly similar slew of questions now:

Favourite City: see my top 10 post for this...

Favourite Food Dish: again see the top 10.. although NYC has not let me down yet with its food offerings

What's surprised you the most: many of my previous false convictions of Americans have been completely eroded and i understand the american culture far more now. 

Where are you going next: this always seems to differ from day to day, hour to hour...

How did you find 'the south': three words: Bar-Be-Que

Do you hate each other yet: lolz. No, we've been getting on just find... Laundromat antics always help lighten a dull mood. 

Looking back on the last two months, it really has been quite the adventure. i've really not written down as many of the stories and things we've been upto as i had planned to do.. but hopefully i can recall them all from my head before two many brain cells are desecrated on the next drinking session.

This is most likely to be the last day i spend here in NYC, and i'd like to perhaps go down and visit the famous Coney Island and see whats cracking there.. i've been slack lately with my fickr uploads and as we speak i'm only just uploading Baltimore.

I also need to get myself some business cards printed with details of my blog, instagram, twitter, etc so that i can direct more people to what we're doing.

If you are reading this and you dont know me personally or even if you do, please visit our website and although in german you can also follow us on FB and Twitter for more info and updates on the Political side of this trip.

Brooklyn Bridge. Gateway to Manhattan.

No Gym. No Tan. But boy, did we kick the arse out of the Laundry.

Jersey Shore. Home to many things.

But now it's shall ever be synonymous with Laundry. Well for me anyway.

You see, we arrived here without realising the season was now over. So that meant, No Fist Pumping, no debating whether girls are DTF... The only viable option was for some GTL...

However, the G's all seem to be shut, the T's didn't really appeal to us either.. So that left L.

We kicked the S**t out of the L. Almost literally at one point.




So here is Andreas, posing outside our chosen Laundromat... That place was deserted, so that left us with only one option... Get up to as much mischief as possible...

As you can see, SOMEBODY. Needed to wash all his clothes as he had no clean ones left... Hence the 'naked cowboy' you see here.

When I get a chance, Flickr will eventually have an albumen dedicated to today's tomfoolery.
I think it will raise a smile. It had me in tears today, just being behind the lens.


In other news: Next Stop NYC.... Via Philly again..... To retrieve my lost glasses from the gym...


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Location:New Jersey Ave,Wildwood Crest,United States

Heeeeeeeyyyyyyaaaaaa

Just letting y'all know that right now... At this very second..

I just spent the night rocking out in a karaoke bar in D.C.. But not just any karaoke bar.... A BBQ infused, live backing band, karaoke bar..

And it was freaking awesome..
Meet quite a few people tonight too.. Including a devout Republican la cross player.. To name but one..

Not sure why I felt the need to blog about this.. I should really have talked about my two days in West Virginia.. Seaking out natural beauty, coal mines and big ass bridges... But live karaoke felt more important..

Well tomorrow we travel north, to Baltimore and Philadelphia!

Ta Ta for now.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:7th St NW,Washington D.C.,United States

Lucky You! Lucky Me!

Another Sunday morning, another church service. I'm still a non believer in this whole religion thing, but it's providing some form of routine to the journey.

We arrived in Washington D.C on Friday, and spent Saturday recovering from the night before.

The plan today is to sightsee around the City on bike (kindly lent to us by Matt & Trang).

The pastor this morning said this quote, which I rather liked...

"as I kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. I then realised that God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike, and prayed for forgiveness." - Al Capone

It's a Methodist church we're at this morning so no crazy Mega Church antics today..

In other news, I've finally come down with a cold... Just like clockwork.. My body just can't seem to handle the start of Autumn..hopefully with enough green tea, multi-vitamins and tissues I'll get over it in a few days..

Well that's all for now.. I'm going to make a better effort of blogging on the fly from my iPhone from now on out..

Thanks for reading.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Church St NW,Washington,United States

Everyone Loves a Top 10.

Ok, so heres the thing.. throughout this trip i've either: Eaten, Drunk, Smelt, Seen, Heard or Experienced something that is worthy of being ranked... out of 10.

So although i'm a little late at starting this.. its better late than never..

So with a short fanfare i give you

ADRIAN'S FANTASTICAL RATING OF ALL THINGS    OUT OF 10!

This list will try and be maintained and kept up to date, with some items being moved higher or lower depending on what places can top others

Top 10 Burgers:

• 10:
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• 2: brgr: 287 7th Avenue, Manhattan, NY was a most excellent burger. gutted i didn't order sweet potato fries with this one... 
• 1: BT's Burger & Fries in Charlotte, NC (Rivergate) This is top because it was recent, and i remember it more vividly than some others i've had along the way... again made the mistake of not ordering sweet potato fries!

Top 10 Beers:

There's been a lot of good beer along the way.. and plenty of not so good.. again, i should have kept better track of what was good and so forth.. i will keep it updated from now on...

• 10:
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• 1:

Top 10 Coffee.. Places:

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• 1: High Point Coffee: Oxford, MS had a Vanilla Latte, and boy was that shit good.. i mean... really good! 

Top 10 Fastest Free WiFi Places:

• 10: Starbucks in Memphis we went to was painfully slow.. i felt like my life was ebbing away..
• 9:
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• 7:
• 6:
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• 1: Right now i'm getting good speed from the folks at VCU in the starbucks on Cary Street, Richmond. 

Top 10 Places to get bitten by Mosquitos:

• 10:
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• 1: THE SOUTH!  if i had started this sooner, i could have kept a better list of places that were worse than others.. but generally the south has been where we've been chewed up worse than anywhere else..

We're on a political journey..

I haven't really mentioned all that much about the main sort of purpose of my trip in my blog.. mainly because i'm mainly here as the photographer/ Tourist.. so i've left the politcial anaylsis to my fellow traveler Andreas whose writing his own blog... www.wahlfahrt2012.de

however.. i might start posting things about the run up to the election that either amuse me, or i just think are rather interesting.. 

Obama 2012 Literally Buys Literally...

Have a quick read of this article from the great master bloggers at Gizmodo..

i thought it was funny.

anyway.. off to go jump in an waterlogged abandoned quarry. 

Ciao for Now.

Fast Forward: Charlotte DNC.

Alrighty then, going fast forward my adventures somewhat to talk about today's events. That's right.. I'm blogging as things are happening! (that's a scary thought!)
So as the tittle suggest, I'm bringing you the trip live as it happens (well happened) here in Charlotte.
So, the morning started with an early start, due to my first CouchSurfing experience, which went very well. The lady that put 'us' (that's a separate story) up was very kind and left me a key out so I could come in late as she'd gone to bed.
So I drove around Charlotte for a while trying t find breakfast places. The satnav did its usual thing of take me to all the places that had shut down..
Finally found a cheap and cheerful place serving typically southern style breakfast: bacon, eggs, and grits.

After filling up the tank (in more ways than one) I decided we should park somewhere on the outskirts near the streetcar line and go into town that way...

Upon arriving in central downtown, it seemed the circus was already well under way... First stop however was: AT&T. Thank the lord for mobile Internet again!
After a bit more mooching around we settled on another Starbucks session to charge and use wifi.

I got bored of that fairly quickly and so decided to go explore the city some more... The following images are what I saw on my 'travels'...

Apologies if any of these shock or offend. But this is the norm over here in the US. And the democrats have caused offence to many religious and pro-life groups who support Anti-Abortion and Also Anti-Homosexuality.

In amongst all this craziness though, we came across some wonderful street music, in the form of a brass band playing some wicked jazz tunes. It was quite the contrast to see and hear everyone enjoying Jazz music on one side of the street, and anti-Semitic and anti-homosexuality on the other.

God bless America ehy.

And all this, and Obama has yet to give his speech... I shall update y'all later with anymore craziness.

Location:Charlotte, NC

Ark-en-sas. Thats how i'm gona' say it.

Next Stop was Little Rock.

i did not see the little rock the town is named after, nor am i sure there is one.. but i did see a whole lot of Bill Clinton related 'stuff'.

We arrived in Little Rock very late in the evening.. after a long drive from Dallas.

as usual, the sat nav directed us to the nearest Starbucks for free parking and free wifi. God Bless you Starbuck.

it was another hot and sticky night in the van, and yet despite another thunderous and violent storm unleashed on us during the night (which i slept through.. thank you ear plugs!) it wasnt much better heat wise the next day either.

having mistakenly left the fans on all night, we were in need of a jump start, so after making the call, we duly sat in the starbucks

 drinking coffee until our recovery man made it there.

The main purpose and thing to see in Little Rock was to see Bill Clinton's Presidential  Library. i personally enjoyed seeing the very industrial looking bridge next to it, and riding the 'street cars'.

Having only really spent the morning here, we were done.. after speaking with a very friendly man in the library we had two places to visit on the trip to our next main stop: Memphis. 

The Lone Star State.

Oil, Guns, and Cowboys.

Thats's basically Texas in a nutshell. Sure i could go on for hours about its rich and diverse history. But i won't.

I was excited to see one thing whilst i was in this state. A REAL LIFE FRICKIN' RODEO.

I was not disappointed.

Our only stops in the state were Midland (for a few hours) and Dallas. I know, i know... should have gone to Austin... maybe another time.. but we wanted to see the general demographic of Texas. The white republican.

What better place to go find such people than at a good old american rodeo.

i took 400 pictures at this event.. needless to say many weren't keepers.. but i witled it down to just 68 in my flickr album.

I think this one says it all.

This was saturday night, the next day we went to church... you can re-read the post i wrote about that here. 

The next place to visit was far less intense than Dallas had been.

A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words...

Hello again.. so you be wondering why my map says i'm in North Carolina, yet my last post was talking about New Mexico.

Well, that would be because of a few things:

1. I'm busy having fun and am being too lazy to write blog posts.
2. I'm a pictures person.. writing doesn't come all that easy to me
3. Internet access is infrequent and i spend more time editing pictures and uploading them when i do have access.

Now, i don't want to come across all whiny about this.. so i am going to try my darndest to correct this..

So here it goes, hold on to your butts as thing are about to get wild.

Having left Las Cruces we set course for the dessert.. in particular the White Sands Dessert. This place is home to a few different inhabiters. Firstly: The US Army and their missile research facility. 

We visited the museum they had their.. but there was a whole army base there for those who work there and do research. That was fun and all.. but they had a V2 Rocket there on display which got me angry about how very little was mentioned in the museum about the destruction this weapon brought to London.. and instead it was glorified, as the rocket that put man on the moon.

Next up was the White Sands itself.. an area of dessert that was composed of fine gypsum powder, and formed moving sand dunes.

We had fun jumping around on the dunes and somebody also had a lovely chat with the local park rangers about his driving style..

Needless to say we were dripping with sweat after all this frolicking around in the dessert, so as we drove further East it was quite remarkable to see how different the landscape became...

New Mexico - Lincoln National Forrest

We drove the rest of the day right the way across the ever changing landscape of New Mexico until we finally reached our destination for the day: Carlsbad Caverns.

Having got their too late to enter that caverns that day, we instead planned to stay the night in the van and gaze at the starts... for you see the sky was alive that night...

The next Morning was spent 800ft below the ground exploring the largest underground cave system in the western hemisphere.

After finishing up, we pointed the van's nose East again and entered the Lone Star State: TEXAS. 

Google Map Progress.. Page two.

View My USA Travels.. in a larger map


Can also be viewed here.. to see the first page of the map. 

The bits in-between..

So i kind of skipped ahead slightly when i posted last about the Mega Church we visited.. So heres the story from the Grand Canyon to Carlsbad Caverns.

Right then, so we left the Canyon early in the morning on the sunday to drive to Phoneix (again to get to a 'mega church') the drive was fairly straight forward.. i was asleep for most of it as it was an early start..

we got to Phoenix ahead of time, and then proceeded to rely on the old satnav to find us some breakfast... this resulted in many loops around the same roads, a visit into a Mexican place, only to leave straight away.. a couple more loops around the block, before giving up and relying on the hospitality of the church to provide us something to eat. they didn't.

As per usual we received a warm welcome to the church..  and found some seats. this particular place was no where near the same size as Saddleback (or The Potters House). There was a little 'meet and greet' part near the beginning of the service, where we got talking to this elderly couple in front of us who took great interest in the fact we were from Europe.

Anyway to cut a long story short, they offered to take us for lunch to hear more about our experiences in Germany & The UK as Maryanne had lived in both countries for a short while. We were truly grateful for the wonderful kindness and hospitality they showed us and for paying for lunch!

Another pit stop in a nearby starbucks before we left for Tucson. The Drive to Tucson was certainly a long one.. and one that greeted us at our destination with yet another storm.

We had found an RV park online that was only $19 a night, which included free wifi, pool, laundry, showers, 30/50amp hookup, and a fruit tree. We had a lime tree.

We basically used the time in Tucson for some R&R and for laundry and showers. The town it's self didnt have a great deal to offer.. upon visiting one afternoon almost everything has closed for the day.

Two nights was all we spent here in the end.. one of which we spent in the Jacuzzi drinking beer in the middle of a thunder storm... needless to say it was an interesting experience.. 

After a morning in the court house, watching the Trail of Jared Lee Loughner we finally left Tuscon and headed for New Mexico. 

New Mexico greeted us with storms on the drive in, but then as we got closer to Las Cruces the weather was more settled.

Another night spent in a Walmart Carpark as we arrived too late to check into a RV park. The following day we decided to check out a local Farmers Market. Lots of small stalls there selling all sorts of food, jewelry, plants, coffee, paintings and more!

After several long and indepth conversations with several stall holders we treated our selfs to a great Mexican style street food lunch.. 

The afternoon was spent in the old part of the town in Old Messila. This part of town is where Billy the Kid was tried and hung. A stroll around the town spending time talking to the local shop owners and also some visitors proved interesting. 

we ended up talking to these two old guys from Texas for a good hour or so, about life in america, politics, their time in Germany and everything in between.. Interesting views on their current government and president. 

Right, so i'm going to leave it here on this post.. i'll talk about the next stop in New Mexico in the next post.

thanks for reading!

Adrian

Sunday Morning Ritual.

Just gona start off by saying, I know I should blog about what I got up to in Arizona and New Mexico before talking about things I've done in Texas. But, I'm in the mood to do a quick blog post, so here it goes.

As part of the trip, Andreas wants to visit some churches along the way, every Sunday. When I say church, I'm not talking your little local chapel, steeped in history, adorned with pictures of Jesus and other saints.

No, I'm talking about the American phenomenon the 'Mega Church'. These places typically seat thousands (and that's no exaggeration) of worshipers into these almost stadium like buildings.

We've done two proper Mega churches so far, Saddleback and now The Potters House.

I myself do not like to say I'm atheist nor do I belong to any form of religion. I believe I can live my life without the need to pray, or place faith in a mysterious being/ force that 'has planned out my path in life'.

The experience so far has been interesting from the view point of someone who's not sucked into these mild cults. I use the word cult, only because I feel the way the bible is delivered to the people is done in a way that has people hooked on the Pastors every word.

I'm not writing this with the view to offend any who come
Across it. So far readership of this blog is probably confined to those I know and a few who stumble across it by chance.

I posted this picture just now to Instagram.



This was what I wrote below it:
"I believe in Science. That's not to say I'm against religion and those who believe it. I live by the saying "each to their own". This morning, we visited a place of worship. I'm hesitant to say 'church' because in America there are places some call 'mega churches' where thousands come every Sunday to celebrate god. My travel buddy is doing a dissertation on these mega churches, hence our visit.. Today's visit I found the most intense so far.. Ive never witnessed anything quite like it in my life. I'm doing my best here not to offend anyone, but in all honesty I can not find any enjoyment or reason to spend my time in these sort of places, or for that matter put so much faith in this all powerful 'God'. This post may well loose me 'followers' but at the end of the day I'm not asking anyone to give 15% of all their earnings to my 'feed' to say thanks for the enjoyment you may or may not get from my pictures.... This has turned into a rant I think.. Well I'd be interested to hear your views on religion as a whole. I'm not singling out Christians or American Christians in this post... Like I say, everyone is entitled to believe in what ever they please... But I personally think that I can find enjoyment, happiness, comfort, relief, and everything else that religion 'offers' in the way I live my life.... Ok I'll stop rambling now. Happy Sunday Everyone. Normal Service will now be resumed! "

That was aimed more at the Instagram crowd, but I think it conveys my thoughts on the whole idea of these places, and religion as a whole quite well.

Well that's all for now, going to try and get my pictures from previous destinations on Flickr then do another blog post.

Thanks for reading

Ady





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:N Bowser Rd,Richardson,United States

The Trip so Far...

I'm going to start this blog post of by saying, that for more up to date progress of what im doing, check out my google map here as its quicker for me to write little tid bits about what ive been up to and show the route we took on there.

So last time i wrote i had stopped off in Slab City... well i can tell you know, we're far, far from there!

After leaving the slabs, we headed for the desert mirage, otherwise known as Las Vegas! however we took a rather long detour via the Joshua Tree National Park..

(Clicking the Picture should take you to my Flickr feed for more pics)

spent an hour or two at  most stopping every now and then in the park for a few pictures.. then carried on our merry way on the Vegas.

As we drove into vegas a rather large thunder storm erupted in front of us, but luckily it was still a good way off and wasn't over vegas in the end.

we spent around a day and half in Vegas in the end.. having got a cheap deal on a hotel off the strip.. but the heat was intense. so most of the day was spent either in the pool, in the room, or in a starbucks!

the evening we went out for a walk down the strip to see what was going on.. my overal impression of Vegas was a rather seedy, dirty, tourist hot spot kind of city.. i'd maybe go back for a day or two to see more of the shows they put on.. but i didnt fancy losing lots of money there which will be sorely needed further along on the trip.

We left Vegas in the afternoon and drove down to Hoover dam, getting there just before closing.. but still to late to see the museum.

i wanted to get some pictures to show the sheer size of this structure, but even this doesn't really do it justice.. you have to see it for yourself.. and to think they built it in 4 years in 1934!

leaving the Dam in the late evening we set the SatNav to the Grand Canyon and carried on driving..


as we're getting close (we had set the destination to the skywalk... big mistake) the lovely paved road, stopped. "Rough Road" "14 Miles" said the sign.. rough was an understatement.

we were luckly to get more than 10 mph along that road, any faster and i'd be in a neck brace...

i should also add, it was around this point that yet again, lightning began to make its self evident in the distance.. as cool as it looked, neither of us thought that it could possibly be heading our way...

we finally got to a point where the road was paved again! (i nearly got out and kissed it, had it not been for the fact the lighting seemed to be getting closer). We drove toward the skywalk, hoping to be able to park there for the night and be the first on it in the morning. Thats when the rain started. its also when we saw flashing lights coming towards us.

"Turn Around!, the Skywalks Closed"

"Can we not drive down there and camp for the night?!"

"No. Follow me, and i'll show you where you can camp"

"OK."

we were back at the start of the paved road, end of the dirt road. but we'd driven back out of the storm. so we thought.

I managed to get a few pictures of the lighting before the rain reached us.

this picture only gives a very small glimpse into what we witnessed that night... after a few beers, wide eyes, and distaster theories later, we ended up calling it a night and going to bed.

The next day Andreas decided to go for a jog from where we were down to the Skywalk. thinking it was only 5 miles or so (according to the satnav... which we're sure is lying to us on a daily basis).

i stayed in bed.. however after what felt like hours, i decided i best get up and drive down the road to see where he'd got to.. a mile or so down the road i found him. Turns out now it was more like 9 miles one way... he'd spoken with people at the Skywalk.. a few things of Note: 1) it was $60 a person (rip off) 2) didn't look that good anyway. 3) he'd never have run that distance had he known it was 9 miles 4) according to a park ranger, that was the worst storm he'd seen in his lifetime.

We packed up, and made our way to the Grand Canyon Village, which was a long drive East.

we took a route via a section of the old Route 66. had lunch at a Native America Restaurant (the food was distinctly american.) and made it to the canyon ($25 later) just before sunset... oh not before old Gavin (The satnav voice that we blame for mis-direction) took us via some crazy dirt road again.. which somebody, decided to drive along as if we we're in a rally car... )

anway.. the view was breath taking..

We stayed in the visitor car park that night, and even ventured out at night to see the canyon, with the hope of a clear sky and no more, to try some more star trail pictures. sadly it was neither clear, or no moon, and was also rather cold, so after one test shot of a ten minute exposure (which came out rubbish) we retreated back to the van.

i'm going to end it here for now.. as i write this, i'm in New Mexico, but i'll save the next post for the journey south in Arizona and then on to New Mexico. Havent got the pics up on flickr yet either so you'll just have to wait!

Thanks for reading..

Ady

Keep up to date with my progress (when i keep it upto date!)

So this Little Map right here, will from time to Time Show my progress across America... When I get a chance to update it!

Right now as I post this I'm in Phoenix.. But can't update the map on my iPad, so will amend it when I get my laptop out again next... We're just plotting our route across the next days.. A lot to see in this part of the US.. but not enough time to do it all if we are to make it to Houston by next Sunday.

I'll also post a couple of normal blog updates soon about my last few stops after Vegas... Need to sort out the pictures on Flickr first!

Thanks for reading!

Ady








View My USA Travels.. in a larger map

Day 98 - Laguna to Slab City

Well, i'm a few days late in writing this.. being on the road alot lately, and lack of wifi and power has its limitations..

So when i last wrote here, we were in Laguna Beach... it sure was nice there, being next to the pacific.. well, that was the last i'll see of the ocean for some time..

We set off with a destination in mind, called Slab City.. i wont go into to much detail about the place.. you can go here for that..

Having arrived just before dusk.. and were greeted initially by Salvation Mountain. And what a sight that is.

As we pulled up, there was an old guy named Earl there who we started talking to, who then introduced us to Adam. Adam had been given the task of helping to maintain the Mountain by 'The Trust'. The mountain is the work of Leonard Knight, who sadly isnt living in the Slabs anymore due to Alzheimer's disease. 

Still, we were shown round the mountain by Adam, who also explained how it was built and some of the ideas behind the work.

We were invited to set up camp right next to the mountain for the night, rather than venture into the Slabs as it was now dark.

A tin of soup and a few cold beers later, it was time for bed. However not before a spot of photography of course!

The next day we tried out the 'shower' which is essentially just a concrete manhole with a water supply tapped off from a nearby hot spring. The water wasn't cold, nor hot.. and was very refreshing in the morning heat.

Some pancakes and ice cold water later we then took a trip into the slabs to see if we could find some people to talk to and see what live was like 'off the grid'. We came across the Slab City skate park.. but couldnt find the local artist said to be behind some of the graffiti work inside the old swimming pool.

we ended up talking to an elderly gentleman by the name 'Red' and his friend (didn't catch her name). He knew a good story or two.. so much so that in my morning haze i had forgotten to put suncream on and ended up geting a nice pair of red shoulders...

we finally said our goodbyes and then hit the road again... this time bound for Vegas.. the SatNav saying it would be 340odd mile, was somewhat daunting..

i'll talk some more about that trip in the next post.

thanks for reading.

Ady