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Wings & Shakes

September - November 2016
A 82-day adventure by Mash and Malice Read more
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  • TravelerWings & Shakes
    Day 27

    Day 27 - By the Quiet Lake

    October 4, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Today was a chance to see another side of Chicago that we didn't see yesterday. Michigan Lake is so huge that if you knew nothing about where Chicago is situated you would swear that the city straddles a sea. It's no surprise that the word 'Michigan' comes from the Ojibwa word 'mishigami', meaning 'great water'. When standing right next to the lake and looking out to the horizon there is nothing but blue against blue. The atmosphere around the lake seems to create the sense that you are on the seaside, particularly whilst strolling up and down Navy Pier watching the gentle waves lap against the shore. To take this to the extreme, Alice and I visited the Signature Lounge at what was The John Hancock Centre on the ninety-fourth floor and looking out at the lake at this height, and still, all that could be glimpsed were two shades of blue. An incomprehensibly large lake. Alice was happy.

    I've just given a brief summary of most of the day centred around the lake. We started the day at Navy Pier, having lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp we added some much needed fish to our diets. We also got two complimentary glasses with our drinks. They're going in the souvenir bag! Then we walked the length of the pier, found a pleasant and unexpected beach and then walked leisurely along the lake. The weather is on our side at the moment (please stay there!) and it was a lovely sunny day, perfect for taking it easy.

    Next up was the a birds-eye view of the city which simply has to be done in Chicago. A skyline to behold. We enjoyed the view with drinks.

    A quick look in some shops and then it was off for yet more buffalo wings. Jake Melknick's Corner Tap was the establishment and it was chosen due to a good review on a website somewhere. Well, they have good taste as these wings were up there. Only eight in a portion and they were the most expensive. Not a good start. However, the wingettes and drumettes (I'm now learning the terminology too) were huge and there was a satisfying crunch to each piece and just enough sauce. I went for a mix of medium and hot buffalo wings and Alice had the apple smoked bourbon. For me the medium was just right and that's what I'm sticking with in future, although the apple smoked bourbon were also as good as they sounded. Alice definitely preferred hers. Alice also had a shake today, as the shake aspect to this blog has taken a hit recently due to vast amounts of everything we are eating. It was the york peppermint shake from the Hershey Store and she says it was creamy and smooth with a subtle hint of mint. Currently number two behind the alcoholic ones we had in Portland.

    Enough about food for now. We headed back to our accommodation and ahead was an exciting evening of suitcase rearranging. The next four days are going to be on the road again and we will be staying in four separate locations. I'm gonna need to locate those clean socks tonight!

    Chicago is a huge vibrant city and we have barely scratched the surface. We have enjoyed it greatly and it gets another big tick from us.

    Song of the Day:
    Journey - Don't Stop Believing    Read more

  • TravelerWings & Shakes
    Day 28

    Day 28 - Good vs Bad

    October 5, 2016 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 21 °C

    Another epic drive today. Two new states and another time zone. We are now on Eastern Time for a while, giving us a mini-break from messing about with the car's clock.

    We have hit the fourth week marker and we're getting into a rhythm whilst at service stations. We pull up, one of us prepays for petrol whilst the other wipes dead bugs from the windscreen, then it's time for a much needed restroom break. Country Music is definitely the music of choice in service stations. It is whilst in a service station that every fizzy, sugary, fatty and salty snack ever imagined is available. That's the bad.

    We started the day however with good intentions. With lunch approaching we were hoping to come across a chain that we recognised so we could go for something that we had seen before that was light. We then spied Applebee's and we headed straight there. Alice had slices of steak with spinach and grains and I had grilled chicken with rice, apple pieces and cranberries. They were both really tasty and we felt good about ourselves. We even just ordered water as it's taken a while to stop ordering fizzy drinks with every meal.

    Now the bad. At the half way point we pulled up at a service station to fill up, swap over and maybe get a coffee. Low and behold there in front of us was a Cinnabon stand. I had only previously heard about Cinnabon from a Louis CK sketch. It's a huge bun with handfuls of sugar, icing and cinnamon. It is served with a knife and fork and you still somehow end up with sticky fingers. Well, at least we washed it down with water!

    We got to our stop-off point for the night by about eight and we popped to a local eatery for dinner. We kept it simple, shrimp for me and shnitzel for Alice. Back at the motel they had an indoor pool and a hot tub that Alice and I decided to make the most of before they closed the facilities at eleven. The hot tub was ridiculously hot and the pool reassuringly cool and so we spent the time alternating between the two. With temperatures correct, we relaxed and made plans for the following day in Cleveland.

    Song of the Day:
    R.E.M. - Nightswimming    Read more

  • TravelerWings & Shakes
    Day 29

    Day 29 - Rock & Bowl

    October 6, 2016 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    It was time for two pillars of Twentieth Century American culture - rock and roll and bowling.

    We stayed in Cleveland for primarily one attraction, and that is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I didn't know much about the place before visiting and it is an interesting museum of rock memorabilia. The displays are grouped by cities and genres and in some cases bands or artists have their own displays. The Beatles section is of particular note and included items such as Ringo's drumkit used from the mid-1960s onwards for albums and the last live shows and curiosities such as John Lennon's passport. It is well worth a visit and is bound to have something relating to an artist or band that you like.

    We then got settled in our hotel which was downtown and then had a think about what to do in the evening. We had thought about bowling a few days ago and just down the road from the hotel was a bowling alley. We weren't sure if it would be busy but luckily there was a baseball game in Cleveland with the Cleveland Indians taking on the Boston Red Sox. It seemed like a big deal as there were lots of fans talking about this post-season game and I'm guessing there was a lot riding on it. Most of the bowling alleys themselves were available and Alice and I snapped up an hour on one of them. We got our beers and food from the lane service and the baseball was also up on the big screen giving the experience that added 'americana' from a usual visit to the local bowling alley at home. Alice started in unforgiving form and blew me away in the first game. By the second, I had regained some composure and as my game had improved Alice's waned. We didn't have enough time to finish the third and so it ended in a fair draw. We then headed to the bar where the excitable home crowd cheered on the Indians. In one of the innings the home team managed three homeruns which were warmly received in the bar as people clapped and cheered raucously. It was a fun atmosphere in which to see the night out.

    Song of the Day:
    Ian Hunter - Cleveland Rocks    Read more

  • TravelerWings & Shakes
    Day 30

    Day 30 - Buffalo Falls & Wings

    October 7, 2016 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today involved an amazing spectacle and an unexpected disappointment.

    We drove to Buffalo from Cleveland in a journey that saw us hit the 5 000 mile mark and pass through another two states. The weather was hot and it felt like a mid-summer's day. Just outside Buffalo is today's main attraction, Niagara Falls. I had actually seen them before from the Canadian side and it was interesting to see them from the other side. Once we parked up we struggled to find the pathway to the falls, nearly walking up the path to the Canadian border. We decided to go on the Maid of the Mist. We paid for our tickets and then took the elevator down to the docking point. We had just missed the last boat and that meant a wait of about thirty minutes. The person by the entrance assured us we would be the first on and that led to us having a prime spot at the front of the lower deck of the following boat. We were all given bright pink ponchos and as it turned out, we were going to need them where we were standing! As the boat moved off, the American Falls sprayed the left-side of the boat in a fine to heavy mist and a rainbow suddenly appeared sprouting from the pooled water. I looked up to my right at the boundary with Toronto and by the time I looked back to my left another rainbow had appeared above the first one. We were now heading straight into the heart of the semi-circle where the other falls surrounded us. The sound of water crashing increased the further we entered and by now vision was difficult as heavy sprays had turned into a drenching and at eye-level there was a shroud of mist. I managed to look over the front of the boat and noticed numerous waves moving in all directions with nowhere to break. The boat began to pivot and lurch around before leaving the vortex. The thundering sound lessened as we slowly made our way back to the docking point. Alice and I were both soaked and laughing hard. It was an exhilerating experience and the closest you would ever want to comfortably get to these beasts of the natural world.

    We made our way back to the car drying off quickly in the sun and then we headed to our hotel for the night which was in Buffalo. We dropped all our things off and headed straight out to dinner. Yes, it was to have buffalo wings and it was where it all started back in 1964 at The Anchor Bar. The legend says that these tasty morsels came into existence when the the owner of the restaurant russled up a quick snack for her daughter and friends one night with random ingredients to hand. Thereby creating the first batch of buffalo wings. If this place is where it started, all I can say is, others took this idea and improved on it vastly. The medium wings I ordered barely had any sauce on them and the sauce itself was dripping in oil. Alice had the mild and they were worse. We were both certain that they had absolutely no sauce on them whatsoever, they were just chicken wings cooked without seasoning. Poor. On top of that our soft drinks were both flat when they arrived. I never understand why restaurants cheap out on the soft drinks, come on, even putting a can in front of me is better than getting the most out of a two litre bottle. The bar is also one of those places that have the shutters closed leading to the impression of a shifty establishment and where we were seated was opposite a stage with a large bowl on it with piles of dirty plates and dishes. No surprise that this has been our worst eating experience of the trip so far. I'm sticking to random reviews online for future buffalo wings establishments. We will give them a break for now though.

    We went to a local Tim Horton's as we walked back to the hotel so we could at least enjoy a sickly sweet dessert and hot drink. We talked about the amazing sight of the falls and the unpleasant taste of those wings. Highs and lows indeed.

    Song of the Day:
    T.L.C. - Waterfalls    Read more

  • TravelerWings & Shakes
    Day 31

    Day 31 - Whao-mart!

    October 8, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We awoke to the sound of rain against the window. Doh! We had managed to avoid a full day's rain since being in the States but today it arrived with a vengeance. It is a driving day which is handy although it would have been nice to see the vibrant colours of the changing season's trees without rain spattered windows. We still have plenty of time here in the East to see this annual marvel in more detail. A gentle reminder of our luck with the weather so far.

    We wanted a hearty breakfast that would lift the gloomy mood of perpetual drizzle. Alice searched for the nearest IHOP. We ordered large breakfasts that took a while to arrive. When the food arrived it was served with an ample side of apologies and it wasn't long before we felt full and content. IHOP just hits the spot, particularly on a wet weekend. The ultimate comfort food. We were now ready to embark on another six hour roadtrip.

    We have encountered many toll roads since Chicago and we decided to take the scenic and cheaper routes for all future journeys. The added benefit of these routes is seeing small town America close up. We pass though many small towns and villages that proudly display the stars and stripes and being this time of year, pumpkins too. I didn't realise how big a deal Halloween is here with the majority of houses having anything from a solitary pumpkin to a full-blown spooky scene with witches, ghosts, cats, lights and fake cobwebs. Some are particularly inventive with tombstones that have funny messages and skeletal hands on people's front lawns. In the supermarkets there are even Halloween cards. Happy Halloween! Driving through these towns there are also a lot of signs showing political support for a Presidential candidate, local DA or Senate Representative. It's noticeable how Republicans out number Democrats when it comes to showing political allegiance in these parts of the country.

    We arrived at our destination just outside Albany and quickly dropped our things off and went to get dinner. We had a noodle meal that was fast and healthy and then it was time to go to the biggest Walmart in the US. We were ready for this although it didn't look particularly big from the outside. We picked up a few items and the further we ventured inside the more disorientated we felt. We entered from what appeared to be the first floor, looked around, and descended to the basement floor and looked around. By the time we paid for our goods we left the store and were left staring at an unfamiliar carpark. We realised we were on the other side of the building and had exited from the basement floor. It was then easier to go back through the store, up the escalator and leave via the entrance we first come through. We could only assume that the building is on a slope as there are no steps obvious on either side of the building to explain why entering and leaving on different floors results in an outdoor carpark. I feel like I've now been inside an MC Escher drawing!

    We drove back to our hotel and gave the new kettle a test run. A movie, tea and cake were consumed before bed.

    Song of the Day:
    Walking on Sunshine (it may have been raining as we drove, but in our minds, we were walking on sunshine!)    Read more

  • TravelerWings & Shakes
    Day 32

    Day 32 - Maine-ly Rain

    October 9, 2016 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    One more big push and we would have made it coast to coast. Just a six hour drive and three new states to go.

    We started the day with another big breakfast, this time from Denny's. It was very similar to IHOP and Alice and I both had the vegetarian omelette with hash browns. Similar with taste and satisfaction too and we were now ready for the drive to come.

    Before too long we crossed into Vermont and we both noticed the density of trees increasing and with that the variety in colours of foliage. From bright reds to pale greens to strong yellows and everything in between. It was overcast and felt like an average autumnal day, and yet, whether looking out to a valley of multicoloured trees or appreciating a singular tree in a front garden with orange leaves, the beauty of this effortless display made it feel special. Unfortunately it began to rain about an hour into Vermont and did not let up from there. We were still able to appreciate the views through the rain until New Hampshire and then even the rain got in the way. It just got harder and more intense the further we drove and made driving quite difficult at times.

    We reached Portland by the evening and we quickly dashed from the car to get all the luggage in our accommodation before getting drenched. We popped out and found a local bar. They had a pub quiz on and Alice and I decided on just eating and drinking. We assumed there might be US specific questions and before long there were questions about quarterbacks from 1983. We were happy with our decision. We returned for the night and watched the Second Presidential Debate. Alas, more questions asked without answers attempted...

    Song of the Day:
    The Beatles - Rain    Read more

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