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Andrew Jerome
Andrew Jerome

Andrew Jerome

I was born in Newcastle, Australia but now live in Adelaide, Australia with my husband Ted.
I currently work as a Flight Attendant for Qantas, and as an ESL teacher.
I have traveled to over 68 countries so far, and am hoping to visit many more. Læs mere🇦🇺Adelaide
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  • Andrew JeromeVietnam and CambodiaRejsende

    Day 4

    14. marts 2023, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Even though our room is very quiet (and somewhat dark due to a lack of natural light) we both woke up early this morning. Breakfast wasn’t served until 6.30am so we relaxed until then and ended up being the first people at breakfast. The breakfast wasn’t too bad although there weren't a lot of options for juices or vegetarians. After Ted left to go to the gym during breakfast, I noticed my phone was missing and thought Ted may have picked it up accidentally before leaving. As it turned out, he had sat back at the wrong table during breakfast (which I hadn’t noticed either) meaning all our belongings were still sitting idly on a table nearby!

    Clearly Ted’s lack of direction continued because he then went back to the wrong room (606 instead of 306), and woke us some poor Chinese man who was wondering who was ringing his doorbell! After getting ready, we walked down to the departure stop for the bus which, according to its itinerary, visited most of the places we wanted to see. Since we had some time before departure, we crossed the bridge across Hoàn Kiếm Lake to the Ngoc Son Temple, which has a tower and pavilions dedicated to the national hero.

    The bus tour was very handy, although the audio commentary was inaccurate sometimes, as it often didn’t match the place where you were. Either way, we still got a great overview of the city. We did the complete round trip first before disembarking back at the original stop to do the tour again, this time leaving the bus at the stops which looked most interesting. Rather than sit on the bus waiting for it to depart again, we walked across the street to Highland Coffee which was located in a high rise building right in the city square. The coffee was plain, but the view was great.

    We first decided to stop at St. Joseph Cathedral, although it wasn’t visible from the bus route. We found out later we should’ve headed right instead of left as we spent a good amount of time trying to find it! Even though most of the locals couldn’t speak English, Ted was able to use the photo from the brochure to ask, and ultimately find, the cathedral (including asking at a nearby hotel).

    Whilst in the area, we decided to have lunch at a nearby restaurant, so we settled on a Vietnamese restaurant named Vivienne which had a direct view of the cathedral (slightly painful when the bells tolled on the hour)! Clearly we paid for location though as the cost of the lunch was more than twice of the pho we had last night. It wasn’t until later that I saw it has the dubious distinction of being ranked #2487 of the 2490 restaurants in Hanoi.

    After re boarding the bus, we went to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum which covered a huge area of land which we needed to walk around just to reach the entrance. The grounds were interesting but not particularly amazing, although I thought the mausoleum itself was impressive. We weren’t able to get close enough to the Presidential Palace to get a good photo as the security guard shooed us away, so the best we could do was one from a distance. We saw the Changing of the Guard ceremony too before rejoining our bus tour.

    We disembarked next at the Chùa Trấn Quốc Pagoda, which is located on a busy highway. If we thought that crossing the street in downtown Hanoi was terrifying enough, crossing this highway felt like suicide. We made the mistake of wearing shorts today which meant we couldn’t enter the pagoda, but all was not lost. There was a pub across the road so we had a lukewarm beer and soft drink whilst waiting for the next tour bus to arrive.

    After the pagoda we returned to the original embarkation point and our hotel room to relax, before deciding to treat ourselves to a massage at a nearby business who often tried to get us in when we would walk past. To be honest the massage was a bit unusual! Most of it was enjoyable, but towards the end they did some weird jerking movements which included cracking Ted’s neck and twisting my back. They also brought a complete stranger into our room for a massage whilst we were still getting ours!

    For dinner, we weren’t feeling like Asian food so we found a Mexican restaurant which was simple and very nice. The bus ticket we’d bought entitled us to a nighttime tour of the city but when we boarded the bus, I realised I’d left the ticket back in the room. I was very disappointed until Ted went to the nearby ticket office and asked the lady for another ticket, providing proof that we had purchased one that morning. She gave us each a spare ticket and we were on our way!

    We didn’t disembark the whole tour, mainly because most the sights were closed and it was just wonderful seeing the city at night. I did make sure I sat lower in my seat this time though as a tree branch nearly decapitated me on the previous tour! When we arrived back to the original stop, we looked through some clothing shops before coming back to our hotel. Another day in Hanoi tomorrow!    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeVietnam and CambodiaRejsende

    Day 3

    13. marts 2023, Vietnam

    We both had a mediocre sleep last night due to a combination of slight jet lag and a storm last night. The jet lag also meant we woke slightly early, both of us still being on Australian time. Ted was more enthusiastic than me, going to the hotel gym whilst I stayed in the room and relaxed. The breakfast at the hotel was amazing though, many choices in a beautiful dining room.

    Ted used the app Grab (similar to Uber) to get us a ride to the airport for our next flight this morning. The airport was crazy busy (like Bangkok city itself), but we arrived in time just before the check in counters were open. The check in process was pretty easy and we even considered upgrading ourselves to business class, having enjoyed it immensely on Philippine Airlines. The extra cost didn’t seem worn it for a two hour flight though.

    After going through security and immigration, we each went to get a sandwich from Zurich Bread, as we were unsure if the flight included a meal. Clearly we weren’t the only ones who thought that way, as a lot of other Westerners were sitting in the boarding lounge eating similar foods. As it turned out, we were pleasantly surprised to get not only a meal, but a hot one as well (chicken or fish, so I chose the latter). The rest of the flight was pleasant enough too, although the FAs struggled with saying their announcements in English. Since the flight was so quick, I didn’t hassle the crew for a photo this time!

    When we arrived in Hanoi, we were both surprised to see how low key the airport was from the tarmac. It reminded me of arriving into Beijing in the 1990s. One interesting thing was how the arrival PA advised passengers not to open the exits themselves! We disembarked via the tarmac and took buses to the terminal instead of using aerobridges.

    Both the immigration process and baggage collection were quick, although I found it odd how the lady at passport control didn’t ask to see my visa which I’d printed out. Once outside, we went to the pick up area and waited for our transfer driver. After ten minutes of waiting, I called the hotel who advised us they would contact the driver. Another driver advised us to wait, before our driver arrived in a very fancy car for the 45 minute drive to the hotel.

    Our accommodation is very close to the Old Quarter district, which is basically the heart of Hanoi. The hotel is very fancy, and the check in process seemed very formal and sophisticated (we felt somewhat embarrassed wearing just shorts and T-shirts)! I had mentioned in the booking that Ted had celebrated a birthday recently, and our beds were decorated with rose petals spelling out “HPBD”!

    We had a quick look at the hotel gym and rooftop bar before going out to explore. The area is very busy, although more low-key than Ho Chi Minh City. I noticed that Train Street was very close to the hotel and was hoping to see it, but was surprised how security guards prevented anyone from entering. I read later that this is now a restricted area and guests can only enter when escorted by a business owner (taking away the option of choosing where to sit and eat).

    Whilst walking back through the city, I made the mistake of accepting a donut from a street side seller (thinking it was a free sample) before realising she had quickly filled a plastic bag of them which she expected me to buy (which I politely declined). We saw an ad for a hop-on hop-off bus service so we thought we might try that tomorrow.

    After spending some time in the Old Quarter, Ted was keen to try some pho, so we walked around for a while before finding a restaurant that served it. It was very well priced, and they offered plenty of options for both the meat-eater and vegetarian alike.

    We considered a late night but are both exhausted from the flight and long day today. A full day of sightseeing tomorrow!    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeVietnam and CambodiaRejsende

    Day 2

    12. marts 2023, Thailand ⋅ 🌧 34 °C

    We woke early again today after a so-so sleep, giving us time to pack up before going to Melbourne airport. The Uber fare quote for today was even more expensive than yesterday, so we settled on a taxi fare which was slightly cheaper. It ended up being a maxi taxi so at least there was plenty of room for ourselves and our luggage.

    Since we’d purchased business class fares, we had the advantage of a smaller check-in queue before heading to the Marhaba Lounge, which is complimentary to business class passengers with Philippine Airways. We have been here before after purchasing lounge passes - it is definitely not the same quality as a Qantas lounge, but it’s still good to be in a private area with complimentary food and drinks. Our boarding ended up being later than expected, but the process was easy and hassle free.

    We haven’t flown Philippine Airways before, and the business class was a delight. Each seat is a pod like on the Qantas A330, and the service is amazing. Personally, we both thought it was better than business class on Qantas. The meal service we received was great too - since we aren’t flying standby for once, I was able to pre-order an ovo-lacto vegetarian meal instead of just hoping they’d have an option available. The best thing was the amount offered - for the first time in a long time, I had to refuse any more!

    I settled in and watched the new "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" movie and spoke briefly to the crew, who were trying to avoid an exceedingly drunk elderly man who kept coming into the galley. I don’t think they have the same RSA regulations as we do back home! I also watched “DC League of Super Pets” which was pretty fun and more enjoyable than the other movie.

    I continued my tradition of getting a photo with the cabin crew who kindly gave us some snacks to enjoy after leaving the flight. I ended up taking the onboard blanket with me, in case we may need it for the overnight train journey through Vietnam. After arriving into Manila, we made our way to the transfer area for our next flight to Bangkok. As we had three hours until our departure, we could use the Mabuhay Lounge here as well, for some extra comfort and food.

    Whilst in the queue for the transfer passengers, we met a couple from Victoria, John and Fiona, who accompanied us to the lounge. The four of us got along extremely well, particularly since John and Ted were taking advantage of the free bourbon! Time flew quickly and, before we knew it, it was time to walk the short distance to our next gate, which was already in the process of boarding.

    The seats on this flight were different from the last flight but actually more comfortable, similar to the business class seats on Lufthansa. We needed to wait a while onboard for the final passengers before we could depart and be on our way. We certainly can’t complain about being hungry either - for a short flight, we were again served a two course meal which we loved.

    Since we are still on Melbourne time, I took advantage of the fully flat bed to meditate and get some sleep. The arrival into Bangkok was slightly bumpy but it was otherwise another amazing flight with Philippine Airlines. At the airport baggage collection though, one of our bags came through quickly with about nine others, then the others didn’t come for another 15 minutes!

    We bade farewell to John and Fiona before catching a taxi to our hotel nearby. The hotel is beautiful, but since it was close to 11pm, we didn’t really get a chance to see much. Tomorrow we continue our travels on to Vietnam.    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeVietnam and CambodiaRejsende

    Day 1

    11. marts 2023, Australien

    Today, the first day of our (hopefully!) stress free holiday begins! After having trouble with staff travel on our last trip, we decided to purchase full fare tickets for this trip, rather than have the anxiety of flying standby. Ted had found a well-priced airfare to Asia in business class on Philippine Airlines to help make this holiday an overall easier experience.

    We woke at 6am to get ready, before making our way to Adelaide airport for our connecting flight to Melbourne. We had already dropped Snoopy off at doggy day care yesterday, so his morning was basically just eating breakfast, turning off the appliances, and locking up the house. Our neighbour Gerry had offered to drive us to the airport which was greatly appreciated. Ted suggested we get dropped off near the Atura hotel, which ended up being naughty since it isn’t allowed, and the kerbside attendant advised us not to do it again!

    After checking in our bag and buying a coffee, we chilled out until our flight to Melbourne in business class. Even though it was premium class, they still didn’t have a vegetarian breakfast option! So I had to push the bacon and sausages aside to enjoy the corn fritters. When we arrived in Melbourne, we were a bit taken aback at the cost of the Uber to our apartment, but since a taxi was the same price, realised it was unavoidable.

    The apartment in South Yarra was very nice and suitable, although it’s interesting to see how many apartment buildings there are in close proximity. After leaving our bags, we quickly made our way to the Oriental Teahouse to see our former housemate Gudron, whom we haven’t seen in over a year (over two years for Ted), as well as her boyfriend Tom. The food was very good, and Gudron and I shared the vegetarian options whilst Ted and Tom were the carnivores. Tom even kindly paid for the meal which was completely unexpected.

    We chilled in our apartment afterwards before going out for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant called Caffe y Cucina. Ted and I don’t usually eat at pricey restaurants but we had been gifted a Gourmet Restaurant card from our neighbours so we felt we could justify it. Saying that, the food was very good (we both had pasta) as was the wine. It was definitely an authentic venue too, with a lot of history and atmosphere.

    Since we have an early start tomorrow, we decided to stay in and watch “Mrs. Doubtfire” as opposed to going out partying all night.    Læs mere

  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Auckland to Adelaide

    30. september 2022, Australien ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    I didn’t get the sleep-in I had hoped for, due to several reasons. After waking up, my mind was buzzing thinking of everything we needed to do that day. I then hoped to use some meditation to go back to sleep but the hotel wifi had dropped out, so I couldn’t use the app. Then I was conscious of our check out time at 10am so I couldn’t relax. Therefore I just lay there, annoyed at not being able to do anything without any wifi!

    When Ted woke up I used his wifi and contacted Tara, who suggested we meet at a shopping centre halfway between us, before going back to her place in Howick. By this stage, Ted and I still hadn’t eaten since the flight last night so Tara kindly made us egg muffins and coffee. It was wonderful to see Tara again and catch up on good memories. We stayed until just before lunchtime as Tara had a catch up with friends, so we caught another Uber back to the hotel to collect our bags before taking the shuttle to the airport.

    This was our first time flying with Qatar Air and fortunately we got our boarding passes straight away. Whilst checking in, I did notice a sign that said staff travellers couldn’t wear denim, which pretty much was what I was wearing. None of the check in staff said anything but I made sure I took some trousers from our bag beforehand to avoid the possibly of being offloaded later!

    We went through security to get something to eat and were very disappointed by the lack of options. I went to a restaurant hoping for a healthy fruit smoothie where I was told, after 15 minutes of waiting, they weren’t serving smoothies. Grr! This meant I had to settle for McDonald’s again which was the last thing I felt like. Ugh.

    Whilst waiting at the boarding gate, an Asian tour group of 10 people bought last minute tickets after their flight was cancelled. We prayed we wouldn’t get offloaded but, as it turned out, we had four middle seats to ourselves so it was very comfortable. After the awful flight on Hawaiian airlines, the flight on Qatar Air was a dream, with plenty of legroom, a decent meal and good cabin service. But the best part was touching down in our home town and seeing Snoopy again.

    We hope you enjoyed our adventures. Until next time :-)    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Honolulu to Auckland

    28. september 2022, New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Since this will be our last day in Hawaii for a while, we woke relatively early and went for a nice morning walk along the beach. We stopped for a coffee at the Moana hotel, where we enjoyed the view from those famous rocking chairs! Whilst our time in Hawaii has been somewhat long and unexpected, it was nice to leave with a positive image.

    After packing up and cleaning up the apartment, we caught an Uber to Honolulu airport. On the way, Ted checked the cost of the flight we are taking today and unsurprisingly, it has increased significantly since we purchased it. Whilst waiting for our flight, we bought some pizzas for lunch since the Chinese restaurant there offered nothing vegetarian besides rice.

    We headed towards our boarding gate and whilst waiting, I saw John Sparkes whom I used to work with at QantasLink who was operating to Melbourne that day. We chatted for a while before he needed to leave and then, about 10 minutes later, we saw Patrick Holley, one of Ted’s former coworkers in Sydney, who was connecting through Honolulu from Peru. He shared a similar nightmare staff travel story where he needed to pay over $3k for a flight home. It’s still interesting to run into former and current coworkers when you’re overseas.

    Before boarding, I bought some food from Starbucks as I wasn’t able to secure a vegetarian meal before leaving Honolulu. After boarding the flight, it was delayed slightly due to the late arrival of a connecting flight. Our so called “comfort plus” seats we’d purchased were a disappointment, since my seat didn’t recline at all. Therefore the nine plus hours flight when I was hoping to lay back and sleep didn’t happen. Ted similarly had a woman hitting the touchscreen on the back of his seat for the duration of the flight. I watched The Batman but most of the entertainment offered wasn’t great.

    Upon arriving into Auckland, we needed to stay seated whilst the cabin crew sprayed the cabin (haven’t seen Qantas do that for over 20 years) before disembarking, collecting our luggage and heading through immigration. I was concerned we wouldn’t be able to check into the hotel due to our late arrival, but the hotel said it was fine and came in the shuttle to collect us.

    I’ve contacted our friend Tara about catching up tomorrow, whom we haven’t seen since before Covid. I would’ve liked to have gone to bed early again but changing time zones has made it impossible tonight!    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Honolulu

    27. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    Due to the late Hawaiian time zones, today is actually our three year wedding anniversary. Ted started the day making us eggs on muffins for breakfast. We had arranged to hire a car to drive around the island today, mainly since our time here has been dragged out somewhat due to unforeseen circumstances. Whilst Hawaii is seen by most as an escape, we’re partly wishing we could escape it!

    When we went to collect our car from the car rental agency, the agent pulled a rather shonky deal - he said that because we were slightly early we either had to come back later and queue again, or pay for a more expensive car. Since we couldn’t be bothered waiting in the huge queue again, we took the pricier option even though it wasn’t what we’d wanted. We didn’t let it sour our day though, as we’d been looking forward to seeing something over than Waikiki.

    Our first stop was the Pali lookout, which we weren’t sure about as there seemed to be heavy cloud cover. We didn’t need to be concerned though, as the view from there was spectacular as always. Ted had been keen to see the town of Kailua nearby, mainly due to the beautiful beach scenery. After spending so much time in Waikiki, we had been feeling somewhat jaded with Hawaii, but seeing the other parts of the island restored our faith.

    The next stop was my favourite place in all of Hawaii - the Macadamia Nut farm! Even though it may be touted as a tourist trap, the marketing there is amazing, as they offer free coffee and free samples of eight different flavours of macadamia nuts, as well as selling body lotions, chilli jams and souvenirs. We didn’t end up buying anything but the visit alone was worth it.

    We then stopped at another famous Oahu sight - the view of China-mans Hat Island. Ted had been interested in going to his favourite Mexican restaurant on the North Shore, but the journey there was a challenge due to roadworks. We were lucky to wait only ten minutes, as the line of traffic stretched for several miles.

    We hadn’t originally planned to visit the Dole Pineapple factory, but decided to go and try the Dole Whip which is famous there. Clearly the place was trying to recover some of its losses during Covid, because a single soft serve cost $7.50, which is about $10 for us. We aren’t being tight with money on this trip, but we are trying to be smart so we decided to forego the experience this time.

    Our journey back to Waikiki was an adventure. After getting petrol, Ted turned into the left lane instead of the right, and we nearly collided with the incoming traffic. As the traffic was already starting to get bad, we had to exclude seeing Diamond Head crater today, and returned the car to the agency instead.

    We ate dinner in the apartment before going for a nighttime walk along the water. Seeing Waikiki in the evening light was beautiful, and it was the perfect way to farewell Hawaii before our flight to New Zealand tomorrow. We have been checking the passenger loads for the flights we were meant to be booked on, and know now we made the right decision by purchasing full fare flights. We continue our journey home tomorrow!    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Honolulu

    26. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Today was an almost stressful day, as I noticed Ted was wide awake before 6am. When I asked what was wrong, he told me that our flight for Thursday has now dwindled down to 12 people, meaning our chance of getting away home on that day was slowly disappearing. If we didn’t find flights somewhere soon, we’d be stuck in Hawaii even longer!

    We both frantically had a look online and Ted managed to find an airfare on Wednesday heading to Auckland, New Zealand. I similarly found an airfare from Auckland direct to Adelaide so we swallowed our pride, and bought full fare tickets for our trip home. They’re more expensive than staff travel, but without all the stress and anxiety.

    After that drama, we headed to Ross for Less and bought another suitcase, mainly to replace the broken backpack I’ve been using since this holiday started. Bags are a lot cheaper here, so it was a good opportunity to increase our luggage supply!

    Afterwards, we decided to go to Hula’s for a quick drink which didn’t quite go to plan. We met a few locals whom we spoke to briefly, who then decided to include us in a round of shots! That broke the ice, so when they invited us to join them at Bacchus afterwards, we happily accepted.

    We ended up staying there for a while and having another round of shots, which isn’t as ideal as it sounds as we had both decided earlier we would drink less alcohol from now on! We then continued onto Inbetween, another bar we remember from our early days in Hawaii. Our original three friends needed to depart after that, mainly as they were too drunk, but we befriended a lady couple who were fun to talk to.

    Ted was determined to go back to Bacchus as they had trivia that night but, as we’d arrived late, we needed to complete the first round of questions without enough thought. We got a total shock when we saw we were seated next to a guy named Lee, whom we’d befriended almost 20 years ago, and hadn’t parted with on the best terms (long story!). To describe it as awkward was an understatement, but we still managed to make polite conversation. As for the trivia, we came second last, only beating the team that arrived even later than us.

    Despite trying to save money, we bought a pizza at the pub for dinner but otherwise didn’t have a late night.    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Honolulu

    25. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    Ted had suggested that we walk towards Diamond Head early in the morning when it was cooler, so after a quick breakfast, we made our way there. Despite the early morning, the humidity was still high and it was hot before we knew it! On the way back, we stopped into a Starbucks to enjoy the air conditioning and a pumpkin spice latte, since it’s something we’re unlikely to buy anywhere in Australia!

    Since laundry is piling up again, I spent the morning doing washing but didn’t have enough change to dry them, so our cupboard looks like a Chinese laundry now. We went to another favourite place, Lulu’s, for lunch. Even though we’ve been trying to save money by having breakfast and dinner in the apartment, lunch is still a costly affair once tips are included.

    We went to Hula’s for a supposed quick drink but ended up staying longer as it poured rain. We were very happy to see our favourite waitress Lee there, who has worked at Hula’s for 22 years, so we can still remember her from when we first came to Hawaii. We met a couple from San Francisco, Rob and Chris, who are travelling with their friend from the UK Kirsty, so it was great to finally meet some new people. We also befriended a couple from Palm Springs, easily done because we asked to pat their dog Lani.

    The guys asked us to join them at Bacchus afterwards so we stayed until about 6pm (when it had stopped raining) before getting a sandwich and changing before heading out. We didn’t end up staying that long - the crowd was quieter and everyone was sober. I think our late night partying days from the past are over!    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Honolulu

    24. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Today was somewhat stressful as we have not yet finalised our plans for our flight home, due to the constantly changing passenger loads on flights. After breakfast, Ted suggested walking down to the water to see the fish, which was a nice tranquil way to start the day. There was a parade down Kalākaua Avenue today, so we saw people who had already parked themselves a spot on the side of the road. Ted wanted to see the parade but I was still not feeling well, so I went back to the room to rest.

    Just prior to lunch, Ted called and suggested I come to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch which is another favourite venue of ours. It was actually the perfect location to watch the parade too, since it was shaded and we could see the street easily. Ted then told me that there were no seats left on the Monday flight when we had planned to leave, so we had to quickly change to the Thursday flight, which has about 50 seats.

    This meant we have also needed to extend our accommodation for an extra three nights which fortunately, wasn’t too difficult or expensive. To be honest I wanted to leave earlier as we’re missing Snoopy, but we don’t have much choice at the moment. Ted suggested we make some additional plans to keep ourselves busy - we considered going to another island, but decided to hire a car to drive around the island on Tuesday instead.

    The rest of the day was relatively quiet - apart from snoozing, we went to Hula’s for afternoon drinks, as well as walk towards the Barefoot Beach cafe as the evening was so beautiful. After returning to the room, we seriously had considered going out for drinks again, but even whilst reading, I kept falling asleep! Fortunately Ted was no more motivated than I was, so we decided an early night was definitely needed!    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Honolulu

    23. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Since our body clocks are a bit confused, we woke up too early at around 5am, as we probably thought we are still on the mainland. Surprisingly it was actually Ted who was starving first thing this morning, so he suggested getting dressed and walking around to find a restaurant. We were hoping for an IHOP or Denny’s but neither were open yet, so we went to Mac24, which Ted used to go to when he flew to Hawaii, which opened at 6am.

    I’m still feeling quite sick, which appears to be sinusitis. We walked around to get a coffee and Ted suggested an Australian shop which was here previously, but it seems to have closed up. One thing we have noticed is the different face of Hawaii - a number of boarded up shops as well as more homelessness. It is sad to see. We ended up going to Honolulu Coffee at Sheraton instead as the view of the water is beautiful.

    Since we have an apartment, we caught a bus (now $3!) to Ala Moana for lunch and to do some grocery shopping. Ala Moana is pretty much the same. I went for a personal favourite, Panda Express - I used to love the orange chicken but fortunately there are still some vegetarian options. Ted offered his lunch to a homeless man there who declined, but I thought the gesture was very kind.

    In the evening we went to Hula’s in the hope of seeing some familiar faces, but there was no one there we knew. We are still trying to ascertain how much Hawaii has changed since Covid - the tourists are back but you can see some subtle differences. We didn’t stay as long as we would’ve liked, as some creepy and boring English guy kept talking to us and invading personal space! We don’t have any definite plans yet, but for now we’re just enjoying the serenity.    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Toronto to Honolulu

    22. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Well, today was definitely going to be a challenge! The last few days haven’t been the easiest, as I seem to have caught something like a cold, complete with cough and nasal congestion. I think it could’ve been caused by either sleeping with the air conditioner on, lack of water or a mediocre diet but either way, it isn’t ideal.

    We packed up the car quickly before going to breakfast and checking out of the hotel. The drive to the border though seemed to find every delay possible, whether it was being stuck behind a garbage truck, roadworks or detours!

    Even though the GPS didn’t send us to the border crossing we’d requested (assuming it was sending us to the one with the least traffic), the process was extremely easy especially since there was only one other car in front of us! That was fortunate though because the traffic we encountered closer to Toronto was chaotic! Luckily we were able to use the carpool lane which made the drive a lot easier.

    The process of returning the rental car and checking in was seamless, so we headed to our gate to have something to eat. Toronto airport has a great system where the gates have chairs and tables set up with iPads and charging stations, where you can order food and drink and have it delivered to your table. It was slightly more expensive but considering the ease and lack of stress, totally worth it.

    I thought I’d finish off the meal with a good coffee, but had to settle for Starbucks instead. The boarding staff at the gate indicated the flight was full, so Ted and I made sure we boarded early to avoid the inconvenience of having to part with our bags due to lack of baggage space. We ended up being in the second back row.

    The flight attendant on board knew we were crew and looked after us wonderfully. The flight from Toronto to Vancouver was just over five hours, but we both had plenty to keep us occupied. WestJet has a good online entertainment system, so I made sure I downloaded the app when we arrived in Vancouver.

    The walk to our next gate was very long, and when we arrived at US customs and immigration, we needed to sit and wait in a waiting room for confirmation that our bag had arrived for the next flight. We had about two hours to connect to our next flight, and most of that time was gone due to all the processes we needed to go through!

    The flight to Honolulu was similarly full, and we had seats third from the back. The flight attendant from our previous flight had mentioned us to the crew on this flight, and they similarly looked after us wonderfully. It seems that WestJet employees know each other very well, as they also knew some of the FAs we’d had on our very first flight from Los Angeles!

    I managed to stay awake most of the flight by eating, reading and watching episodes of “Modern Family” even though it was 3am in our original time zone. When the plane was coming in to land, I closed my eyes and was surprised that I was already starting to doze when the aeroplane landed. Even though disembarkation is never as quick as you’d like, we didn’t have to wait long for either our bag or the Uber to our accommodation. We even saw Janice in the terminal, one of the FAs from our first flight, waiting to take the flight back!

    Our accommodation is somewhere we’ve stayed before although this time, Ted chose a different room as the previous one is noisy due to the elevator. As exhausted as we were, we went to a nearby ABC store to buy something small to eat, before showering and heading to bed.    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Niagara Falls

    21. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    I left the decision of where we would go today to Ted, as I had organised most of the itinerary beforehand. There was the choice of Watkins Glen State Park, Albany, Niagara Falls or Buffalo. Ted chose Niagara Falls with a stop in Buffalo, which is actually on our way to Toronto Airport tomorrow, however we won’t have time to stop considering the driving distance, border crossing, rental car return and the Toronto traffic!

    After a good breakfast, we started our drive through to Niagara. The sad thing to see was how run-down the town of Niagara Falls is. We weren’t sure if it was an after effect from Covid or something else, but the town was dilapidated and depressing. It was very different to the memories I have of Niagara Falls from years ago.

    As we approached the Falls, we weren’t sure whereabouts to park until we noticed an area that offered parking for $10. We weren’t sure if it was legitimate, but the guy who took the money was wearing an official looking T-shirt, so we were hopeful! As we walked towards the Falls, we became stuck behind a tour group, which wasn’t as bad as it sounds because we got a free commentary as well!

    TBH, I hadn’t been that excited about seeing Niagara Falls, simply because I felt like we weren’t seeing anything new. I was wrong though - unbeknownst to us, there was also nearby Goat Island which offered a completely different perspective of the Falls. We took an unbelievable amount of photos, made easier by the obvious lack of tourists about. Another thing we noticed too was how much was closed, such as restaurants and souvenir shops.

    When we went to collect the car, we noticed that our $10 parking had now increased to $25 from then onwards, so fortunately we’d arrived at the right time! Ted was keen to see Buffalo on the way back where I had been during the winter of 1992. The traffic itself to get there was chaotic and to be honest, neither of us were impressed by the city. We parked the car and went to a sports bar for lunch but TBH, the city didn’t leave a pleasant lasting impression on us.

    Our trip back to the hotel took longer than planned, mainly because we got stuck behind a truck for so long! We noticed our room hadn’t been cleaned, and found out it is only cleaned every third day. That may be another sign of the labour shortage. For dinner, Ted bought some broccoli which, as unappealing as it sounds, was exactly what I felt like after days of unhealthy eating.

    Tomorrow we head to Hawaii but we clearly didn’t do our research before booking the flight: we wake up at 6:30am and drive to Toronto, to depart at 2pm for a five hour flight to Vancouver, then catch a connecting 6 hour flight to Honolulu. In other words, we arrive in Hawaii when it’s 3:30am here. Ugh. It’s going to be a long day.    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Roxbury to Mount Morris

    20. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Unfortunately Ted and I didn’t sleep so well because, as awesome as this hotel is, the beds are way too soft and I woke up with an annoying backache. Today was a bit of a longer drive so I collected our breakfast from the reception area - even though it was bagged, there were still plenty of options.

    The weather was a bit overcast again today but fortunately, with very little rain. After stopping in nearby Margaretville for some supplies, we continued onto Bethel. I had been disappointed previously about the lack of autumn colours but today we had some colour on the drive which was great.

    When we finally arrived in Bethel we noticed two things - the amount of signs written in Hebrew, and how the town didn’t have much else! We headed straight to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, better known as the site of the 1968 Woodstock festival. We actually thought the place was closed as there was a huge car park area, and only a handful of cars.

    Just like our visit to NASA in Houston, this place exceeded our expectations. We purchased an entry to the museum as well as the iPad audio tour “Meet me at Woodstock” which we did first. This was a guided, multimedia tour of the Woodstock historic site which involved walking around to seven different locations outside, in the area where the festival occurred. At each location, the tour showed a 3-D model of the stage, with pop-up photos and videos highlighting landmarks around the historic site. It also played music of that era whilst attendees would give their memories of the concert. It was great.

    The museum was just as good. The exhibit included films, interactive productions, artefacts on display, and photographic murals. It showed fashion of the 1960s, music from the era, and original footage featuring the people, stories, sights, and music of the Woodstock Festival. It reminded me slightly of the Beatles museum in Liverpool - even though I wasn’t around during that era, it helped you to appreciate and understand it.

    After taking a lot of photos, we continued on our way. As we still had plenty of driving to do, we settled on another McDonald’s drive thru meal (ugh) so we wouldn’t need to stop. We even crossed the border into Pennsylvania for two minutes, but the drive kept on going!

    Fortunately our hotel in Mount Morris is quite good, although we have really noticed how rundown some of the towns we drive through are. I managed to do an enormous (seemingly) amount of laundry too at the hotel laundry, meaning we have clothes to wear again! I was hungry and tired by the time we went to dinner, so Ted suggested we go to a nearby Denny’s.

    It seems like the shortage of workers we saw at Roxbury is prevalent here too as the waitress needed to turn us away as she was the only one working. It was then we noticed how virtually every business seemed to have a “help wanted” sign, indicating a similar problem here. I ended up getting Subway and Ted bought KFC for dinner. We were disappointed but it’s understandable.

    We were exhausted after the drive today so decided to go to bed around 9.30pm. We have no definite plans yet for tomorrow but are so glad we have two nights to relax here.    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Holyoke to Roxbury

    19. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We didn’t get the sleep-in we’d been hoping for today, as we still woke up at our regular time, despite going to bed late. Breakfast was included at this hotel, which wasn’t the greatest but when it’s included, we never complain. It tasted fine but probably wasn’t that healthy! I also got to try pumpkin spice coffee which isn’t something I’ve ever seen back home.

    After getting petrol we continued on our way to the Catskills - the New England states have been wonderful, but we’re keen to see something different. We decided to go on the toll roads again although we didn’t get the option to pay for them as they were electronic, so I guess we’ll get the bill when we return the car.

    We first drove to the the town of Catskill which almost appeared as a ghost town in the middle of beautiful wooded scenery. We considered driving right through it but changed our mind and had a look. I’m glad we did - even though the town was asleep, it actually had a very nice charm. We had coffee at a beautiful gift shop/cafe run by a guy who had moved to Catskill from Manhattan. What a relief to have decent coffee!

    Our next stop was the town of Woodstock in New York which isn’t actually the location of the famous music festival, yet it tries to promote itself as such. I didn’t actually find it particularly interesting. We were hoping for something that was worth photographing but apart from buying a T-shirt, didn’t spend much time there at all.

    For lunch we went to a diner in Windham which, like most the towns we’ve seen in the Catskills, are really tired looking and lacking in tourists. We’re guessing it might be a combination of the low tourist season and the repercussions of Covid. Windham actually showed potential though as there was a large ski resort area which isn’t utilised during the summer months like Blue Mountain in Canada is.

    When we arrived in Roxbury where our hotel is, we found the town to be small but charming nonetheless. Our room is absolutely beautiful - it is called “Samantha’s Dream” and is inspired by the TV show “Bewitched”, based on scenes when Samantha would meet with her mother or another character up in the clouds. The receptionist had suggested we explore the other part of the hotel which is further up the road, so we did.

    That was definitely worth the drive! It is almost impossible to describe this place so here’s a description from the website: “Imagine if Alice in Wonderland married Willy Wonka and set up residence in Oz”. This is one of the most amazing hotels I’ve seen so far. Whether it was the building itself or the surrounding grounds, this hotel is an assortment of colour, class and sheer beauty. To call it unique is an understatement.

    We had intended to see the nearby waterfall but a storm blew in, forcing us back to the car to escape the pouring rain. We went back to our room and dried off before trying again a few hours later. The waterfall was unsurprisingly beautiful too, to match the hotel and surrounding grounds.

    Whilst walking around the grounds, I saw a man walk out of the building and asked if he worked there. Well, he actually ended up being one of the owners, as he and his partner Joe had started the place up a few years back. The three of us ended up talking for a while about a lot of different subjects, but it was very impressive meeting someone who had so much amazing vision yet remained so humble.

    For dinner we returned to town to try the restaurant Chappies, which seemed to be the only place operating that evening. It was also being run solely by one overworked waitress and two chefs, so patience was definitely required. We ordered a pizza and salad but the latter didn’t arrive so we decided to cut our losses and just enjoy the pizza. It wasn’t until after paying the bill did we realise we’d still paid for the salad!

    Tomorrow we head further west, as we get closer to our original destination of Toronto where we picked up the car. So far this trip has been a collection of eye opening experiences, and today was no exception.    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Provincetown to Holyoke

    18. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We departed Provincetown before breakfast today, due to the amount of driving planned. After getting some petrol we realised that Rhode Island wasn’t too far of a detour from our schedule, so decided to divert so we could say we had officially visited all six New England states!

    We probably should’ve asked some opinions though about the best part to visit! We went to the capital city Providence and visited Historic Federal Hill, one of the town’s popular neighbourhoods, and were underwhelmed by the look of the city, with old roads and run-down buildings. We thought we would go for a coffee and literally found only two cafes - both completely full - before deciding to try elsewhere instead.

    We found a nearby Denny’s and enjoyed a meal there (despite an altercation between a female customer and the staff), before continuing towards Connecticut. Our first stop was the quaint seaside town of Mystic, famous from the film “Mystic Pizza”. It was fortunate we parked outside of town though, as the traffic was chaotic. I regretted wearing warmer clothes today - the cool weather of Provincetown wasn’t prevalent there.

    Before leaving Australia, we had made plans to catch up with a couple we’d met on the Trans-Mongolian railway 12 years ago, John and Carla. John suggested we meet up in the town of Chester, Connecticut which was a beautiful town amongst the woods, holding a Farmer’s Market that day. They also brought their three daughters along, so the seven of us had lunch in a nearby sandwich cafe. They did mention how Seaport is actually the place to visit in Rhode Island so at least we will know for next time!

    We continued through Connecticut past the cities of Hartford and Springfield, the latter I partly wished we’d visited as a sign indicated there was a Dr. Seuss Museum there! We arrived at Holyoke where our last-minute hotel is, and even got to place a pin on a world map, showing how the hotel now had their first ever guests from Adelaide!

    After checking in and getting ready, we drove to nearby Northampton to see our friends Stephen and Woody who have recently moved here from Fort Lauderdale. Very recently actually, since most of their moving boxes are still unpacked! Whilst having appetisers, their son Tony came downstairs which scared us all as he’s still suffering from Covid! I’m guessing he was wondering who was visiting.

    After taking their dog Augie for a quick walk, the guys drove us into nearby Northampton which they chose to live in as it’s a very gay friendly town. It actually impressed us a lot - for a small town it had a lot of shops, restaurants, pubs and parks. Ted and I agreed we could both easily live there. We went for a drink at one of the bars before heading back for Stephen’s home cooked meal of eggplant pasta. Delicious!

    We probably could’ve stayed longer if it wasn’t so late by the time we left, but it was definitely wonderful to see the guys again. Tomorrow we leave New England for the Catskills so hopefully we can sleep in a bit tomorrow.    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Provincetown Day 2

    17. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    We woke up later than usual today - Ted feeling a bit seedy! - after drinks last night. I went to breakfast, but Ted decided to forego it. We walked down to get a coffee but going to Coffee Joe wasn’t as good as we’d hoped, as there was no seating and the service was mediocre.

    Today was a great relaxing day, as we didn’t stick to any schedule. We went down afterwards to the Portuguese bakery where Ted waited forever for a ham and cheese croissant. Ted then went to buy some T-shirts whilst I went and bought a breakfast burrito. As you can see, our schedule today was very riveting!

    For dinner, we went to the same bar we went to for pre-dinner drinks as it also doubled as an Italian restaurant. I struggled to get through the meal though as a lunchtime smoothie I’d had earlier, complete with banana, blueberries and peanut butter, was one of the most filling things I’ve ever drank. We have enjoyed being here in Provincetown but would prefer to come here with friends if we came again.

    We thought about going out again tonight but considering our early start tomorrow and the fact we’re so behind on sleep, decided against it.    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Provincetown

    16. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    I didn’t quite get the sleep-in I’d been hoping for as I woke way too early, especially since breakfast wasn’t served until 8am. The breakfast itself was the first one we’ve had provided on this holiday, and was only a simple offering of granola and muffins. Ted and I headed out for a walk on the surprisingly cool morning to see some more of Provincetown. It is very different from Ogunquit with a lot more shops, restaurants and bars however since it’s located on a peninsula, there doesn’t seem to be much to drive to in the way of day trips.

    Ted and I walked to the spectacular Pilgrim Monument which is close by to our B&B before walking to town and enjoying a coffee at a beachside cafe. We have noticed that the NGPA (National Gay Pilots Association) are having an event here in Provincetown, and there are plenty of pilots walking around wearing lanyards. For lunch, we went to a street side restaurant for beer and burgers before going shopping for T-shirts - we found a store having a massive sale so I bought five!

    After bumming around for a while, we headed back to our B&B to book some accommodation in Holyoke, due to our alternate arrangements. We dressed up and got ready to go out that night for some pre-dinner drinks, and went to the Shipwreck Bar nearby. Since there seemed to be a private function we headed instead to a small bar on the Main Street for a beer, before heading back and trying again. The function was still happening, but the organisers encouraged us to stay regardless. It ended up being the Gay Fathers of Greater Boston group, so we stayed for a while and had a few drinks before heading towards the Crown and Anchor.

    Ted recognised one of the pilots there as someone he had met earlier, and the pilot convinced the organiser to let us in since we both worked in aviation. Not only did the organiser let us in, he also gave us four drink vouchers! Initially, we found it a bit hard to find people to talk to as everyone seemed to already have their group of friends, but the organiser actually brought over some people to speak to, including an Australian pilot from Canberra who now lives in Boston.

    The party then moved to the aforementioned Shipwreck Bar! There were so many people there that the gathering ended up spilling over to the bar across the road. Once Ted and I had had our fill of drinks and socialising, we headed back to our accommodation, although I walked through the area for a while trying to find anywhere that sold water. I ended up having to buy four bottles from a rooftop bar that was still open. It was so great to get out and meet members of the community!    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Ogunquit to Provincetown

    15. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    It was fortunate I set the alarm, because we were both sound asleep when it sounded. Sleeping in the room wasn’t completely easy due to the sound of people walking around upstairs, but it was nothing that earplugs couldn’t fix. Since we still haven’t acquired a taste for hotel coffee, we waited until we arrived in Salem before getting our caffeine fix. Fortunately coffee shops like those back home haven’t been difficult to find on this holiday!

    Our tour guide in Salem was a local named April, who gave a good mix of humour and knowledge during the tour. Even though a large emphasis of the tour was about the Salem Witch Trials, it was interesting to learn about the city’s early history too. Some of the sights we saw included: the “Witch House”, which was owned by Jonathan Corwin, who was called upon to investigate the witchcraft accusations, and is the only existing structure tied to the Salem witch trials; the First Church in Salem which was built in 1836; Burying Point Cemetery, which is right next to the Salem Witch Trials Memorial; and Ropes Mansion, a Georgian Colonial mansion. But one of the coolest things was the “Bewitched” statue, featuring Elizabeth Montgomery’s character Samantha astride a broom and framed by a moon crescent.

    Since we still had a long drive to Provincetown, we bought some sandwiches from the same coffee shop before heading off. I would’ve loved to have spent more time in Salem as it felt like we’d only scratched the surface, so hopefully someday we will get to visit again. We then headed south past Boston, which wasn’t as easy as we’d anticipated. Even outside of peak hour, traffic was horrible with a mass of cars fighting over a mishmash of lanes. A truck driver verbally abused us twice too!

    We finally arrived in Plymouth, and it was a real treat. Known as “America’s hometown”, it was a beautiful seaside town, with plenty of English culture, like the red phone booths. We saw the famous Plymouth Rock (not very exciting!) and the replica of the Mayflower before continuing on our drive.

    The drive to Provincetown was very relaxing through the Cape Cod area, and our Airbnb accommodation was not difficult to find. Our room is wonderfully large with a fair sized bathroom too. After unloading the car, we wandered down nearby Commercial Street to get into the atmosphere of the area. We ordered some corn chips and beer in a street side bar to people watch before getting some cheap Chinese food in a nearby food court. Since we’d been eating all day, we weren’t in the mood for much.

    Provincetown weather is actually cooler than our last few destinations, so maybe autumn is finally coming. We may be changing our itinerary - we had planned to stay with friends Stephen and Woody after leaving Provincetown but their son has just been diagnosed with Covid. Since it’s a Thursday night, we decided to relax in our room for the evening.    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Bar Harbor to Ogunquit

    14. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today we ended up leaving earlier than expected, mainly due to going to bed early last night. After packing up the car, I cautiously went to check out with only one key, expecting to be asked where the other key was, but nothing was said by the receptionist so I counted our blessings and we departed!

    So far on this holiday we have been avoiding the freeways to save money until we faced the reality that the toll charges here are sometimes only $1, and nothing like the exorbitant toll charges we have back home! This means we returned to Ogunquit much faster than the drive from there took, as we were on the freeway as opposed to the coastal scenic route.

    Before getting to Ogunquit, we visited the city of Portland, which is where we were originally meant to be staying tonight. We headed straight to the waterfront area which was a collection of cafes and restaurants, with cobblestone streets. We explored the port before similarly heading to the downtown district, but found it to be less interesting as it was reminiscent of a lot of large cities.

    We thought we’d see more of Portland, so we drove out to the Portland Head Light, the oldest lighthouse in Maine. The weather out there was spectacular, as was the view of Portland. It seemed like the perfect place to have lunch, so we relaxed in the sunshine and got some vitamin D.

    We then continued onto Ogunquit and were pleasantly surprised that our cheaper hotel was actually better than our previous one. The walk to town is slightly further, but the room is bigger and more comfortable. Ted went to the supermarket to get some more supplies whilst I unpacked the car. We had planned to catch up with our friends Scott and Nate whom we’d met through mutual friends in Las Vegas a few years back, so we dressed up to go for dinner.

    Before dinner, we headed to the piano bar which was less crazy than before but still popular. We then tried the Maine Street bar which was mostly empty, before heading to the Italian restaurant nearby. It was wonderful seeing friends again after a long break from travelling, which has been our main focus on this holiday. The dinner was great, and Scott and Nate even kindly paid as they said we were the visitors.

    We have a tour booked tomorrow in Salem for 10am, so I set the alarm to avoid oversleeping. Massachusetts tomorrow!    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Acadia National Park

    13. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    After waking up this morning, we discovered that our cabin accommodation didn’t have any crockery or cutlery, so instead of having breakfast first, we made a quick trip to a nearby supermarket to stock up on even more supplies. When we returned, we spoke to the people in the cabin next to us, where their huge puppy jumped on Ted, covering him in mud in the process!

    When we returned to the room, we wasted time looking for the second key to the cabin, before thinking that maybe we were confusing it with our previous accommodation and there was never a second key! Our main plan for today was to visit nearby Acadia National Park, the sixth most visited national park in the United States.

    The weather today wasn’t perfect though, as the day was quite overcast. One of the places we enjoyed seeing the most was Jordan Pond, with a view of the North and South Bubbles in the background. We were a bit confused though, as we’d been driving on the Ring Road all morning and we still hadn’t seen the entry gate yet!

    We headed up the Cadillac Summit Road which we’d needed to pay an additional entry fee for, but it wasn’t quite what we’d expected as the cloudy weather overtook the view. We managed to get a few good pics before departing and were about to return to the accommodation when we saw a road indicating the way to a sandy beach.

    It wasn’t until we drove on the road for a while that we finally reached the actual entry to the park! The scenery on this side was different to what we’d already seen, which included a beach, and a rocky shore called Thunder Hole which is a small inlet, naturally carved out of the rocks, where the waves roll into.

    We headed back to the cabin before deciding to explore Bar Harbor again. This time we weren’t so lucky with parking, as it seemed like there were twice the number of people than yesterday, so we parked further away at a sports oval. Our first bad weather happened today as it rained consistently for a while. We stopped at the Beerworks restaurant for an unhealthy dinner (clam chowder and Mac and cheese) before walking back in the rain to the car. After returning to our cabin, we relaxed and dried off before bedtime.    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Ogunquit to Bar Harbor

    12. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Even though we had a long drive, we still had a decent sleep-in before packing up the car for the drive to Bar Harbor today. Our first stop was the town of Kennebunkport which was close by. We liked it a lot - it had a more nautical look than Ogunquit, and it wasn’t as large. We even managed to find a good coffee house, where I had a 4 shot iced coffee. Yikes!

    There are two ways to reach Bar Harbor and today we took the longer, and more scenic route. It’s also the route that has no tollgates! We had some light rain on the way, which has been the only plain weather we’ve had since starting our holiday too.

    We arrived in the town of Rockland for lunch which is a very edgy, grungy kind of town but decided to try elsewhere for lunch since a lot of places were closed anyway. Ted and I have developed a real love of diners since we don’t have them back home, and went to a quaint diner in the nearby town of Rockport. The lunch was marred somewhat when I tried to enter the men’s restroom and broke the door frame in the process. I was very apologetic but the waitress wasn’t bothered at all! Either way, we left a larger tip than usual!

    As we continued up the coast, we stopped at a beautiful town named Camden, which was another port city. We spent some time walking along the waterfront and took plenty of photos. We’ve noticed there are an abundance of places selling lobster rolls (or lobster anything!), but $40 a pop is a bit much we thinks!

    When we arrived at our accommodation, we were very pleased with our cute little cabin. The owner was also wonderful in recommending the local sights, and said we could use the washing machine and dryer for free. After unloading our bags, we took the car into nearby Bar Harbor about ten minutes away not sure what to expect.

    To say the least, we love it. The town is a popular destination for cruise ships, and there is a huge abundance of shops, restaurants and tourists! We found a reasonable Thai restaurant for dinner but just the atmosphere of the town made it worthwhile. So far Maine has been wonderful with its port towns, Dutch Colonial architecture and friendly people. We are heading to nearby Acadia National Park tomorrow, which will be another National Park we can add to the list :-)    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Ogunquit Day 2

    11. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    What a relief to wake up today, take our time, and not have to jump into the car for another long drive! Today we decided to explore the local area of Ogunquit so after having breakfast in the room, packed up a backpack and walked down to the beach area. It was actually surprising to see how much surf there was - even though the weather wasn’t ideal, there were still a lot of people enjoying being by the sea. The majority of tourists here are either elderly people or the LGBTQ crowd, and the number of rainbow flags about is really impressive, even on the churches.

    I had read about visiting nearby Perkins Cove thinking it was another, possibly quieter, nearby town. It actually ended up being an extension of Ogunquit, where the very wealthy live. We had driven the car there but balked at the idea of staying for lunch since the car parking price alone was $30. We loved seeing the beautiful area but ended up returning to our local area, where we went to the Treehouse Taqueria for a Mexican meal instead.

    We then relaxed in our room before having something to eat and heading to the Maine Street bar for drinks around 4pm. We ended up staying until seeing some friends we’d met the night before, but didn’t stay out all night since we’re heading off to Bar Harbor tomorrow. At least we’ll get to see Ogunquit again on the way back!    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Stowe to Ogunquit, Maine

    10. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We had a decent sleep last night, showing that the jet lag has finally passed. We packed up our car and had a chat to some Canadian guys in the car park about their Mini which was brought here for the British car show. We then headed into nearby Stowe for breakfast, which looked miraculously clean considering the celebrations last night. We went to a small cafe for oatmeal and a bacon and ham muffin for breakfast, combined with bad American coffee. We took some photos of the beautiful town before heading to a sight I was interested in.

    Before coming to the USA I had heard that the Von Trapp family from “The Sound of Music” had moved here after escaping Austria and, sure enough, there was their lodge about 10 minutes outside of town. It is now an exclusive accommodation with an extensive property and activities for the guests. Fortunately we were allowed to wander inside and take photos, as well as learn the history of the place.

    We had planned to visit the towns of Manchester and Portsmouth during our drive today, but only settled on the latter. Manchester didn’t seem that interesting and was somewhat run down. We drove to the area near the City Hall as apparently it was the more diverse area, but didn’t like it much. Portsmouth however was a charming and touristy seaside town. Just like the names, the English influences here are really obvious in the New England states. We had a Mexican lunch down on the water which wasn’t as expensive as we’d anticipated (we still can’t find Coke Zero anywhere though!).

    Our arrival into Ogunquit was somewhat slow though as the traffic into town is quite intense. This place is definitely popular with tourists! We checked into our accommodation, which is a good sized room in a hotel which is walking distance to town. Even better, we’re here for two nights meaning we can have a break from driving. We headed to a nearby supermarket as we’re hoping to save money on breakfasts and dinners instead of eating out all the time.

    We had a well deserved nap before we decided to change our itinerary slightly. On the way back from Bar Harbor we are meant to be staying in Portland for one night however the accommodation is very expensive, so we have decided to come back to Ogunquit instead where it is half the price. We couldn’t get the same accommodation as now, but the new place is only a few minutes up the road.

    We had dinner in the room before heading out for a drink. Firstly we went to the lively Front Porch Piano Bar which was very popular with locals and tourists alike. We met a lady downstairs from Miami who joined us at the local venue across the street, called Maine Street. Not only did we meet some locals, we also found out we’ve been pronouncing the name of this town incorrectly! It’s O-GUN-quit, not OH-gen-quit! We didn’t have a late night but we still had a fun night    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Thousand Islands to Stowe, Vermont

    9. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Even though our cabin isn’t glamorous, we did both sleep well. One thing that was a bit unusual is that the instructions on the wall said we needed to separate the garbage, sweep and vacuum the floors, wash and put away the dishes and strip the beds before leaving! It almost felt like we were at camp.

    The Queen’s passing was all over the news this morning, even here in the US, and there were also some flags at half mast here too. We were a bit concerned when we awoke to fog, particularly since we had the cruise at 10am. We remained optimistic and packed up our car, bought a takeaway coffee in Clayton, and drove down to Alexandria Bay for our cruise.

    The fog was still there although it was slowly dissipating. The tour operator advised that the tour may get delayed which concerned us due to our tight schedule and their no-refund policy. Luckily we were not delayed for more than 15 minutes, so the cruise was only delayed further waiting for the people who ran to get a coffee thinking the departure would be later!

    The cruise went through the appropriately named Millionaire Row, where there were some stunning houses located on islands along the way. The guide even asked us to look over the edge and look out for the US-Canada border (which most of us fell for). We enjoyed a green tea and popcorn in the dining area before stopping at beautiful Boldt Island where the majority of the passengers disembarked to explore the castle. Truth be told, if we’d had enough time we would have done the same, but we still had a lot of driving to do so we had to pass.

    Even though the cruise departed late, we arrived back in Alexandria Bay on time. We continued our long drive towards Vermont where we passed a few Amish communities on the way. As we didn’t want to run behind, we settled on McDonalds drive thru at Gouverneur for lunch, which is something we definitely don’t do often.

    When we arrived at Lake Placid we both liked it. I mistakenly associated it with the movie, not the venue of the Winter Olympics! The area had a lot of tourists, but we loved walking through the shops and photographing the lake. I bought a T-shirt - my first purchase this holiday - before we continued on. Easier said than done though, as a lot of the roads were closed and we were constantly detoured.

    We drove past the ski jumps on the way out of Lake Placid, before arriving in beautiful, flat Vermont. Some of the villages we drove through were amazing. We had originally scheduled to go to the capital Burlington, but the amount of driving was getting to us, so we headed straight to Stowe instead. When we arrived it was already dark so we decided to go into town first before going to the hotel, in the hope something would be open so we could get something to eat.

    Well unbeknownst to us, the town was completely pumping. The town was holding their annual “British Invasion”, which involved a band playing British songs, the displaying of British cars, and thousands of people in the street. We thought it was related to the passing of the Queen, but it was just a coincidence. We bought some pies for dinner thinking they’d be a cheap option (misjudged that one!) before enjoying the atmosphere. We headed to our so-so hotel afterwards but, despite driving all day, Ted was still awake enough to stay up and watch the tennis! Tomorrow we visit another state as we head to Maine!    Læs mere

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesRejsende

    Collingwood to Thousand Islands

    8. september 2022, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today we bade Canada farewell as we crossed the border into the United States. Gretchen kindly made us eggs on toast for breakfast, which is much better than what we’ve been eating lately! Before heading off, G & D offered to take us to the Collingwood waterfront before we continued on our way.

    Since coming here, driving has been awkward as we sometimes lose directions due to the map roaming dropping out. There’s also so many speeding drivers! Today involved a lot of driving, so our first stop involved just getting petrol and eating at the diner next door. Before going into eat, I panicked when I couldn’t find my phone anywhere - the last thing you want to lose on holidays after your passport! The service station owner called my phone and Ted managed to find it trapped down between the seats. Phew!

    The diner was called St. John’s which seemed to have been struggling a bit lately. When the blackboard only listed three meat meals, we considered moving on but fortunately, the waitress had full menus. I did have to ask what “peameal” was though. As we continued through Canada, I noticed that several flags were at half mast. We realised why when the internet reported that the Queen had passed away. It was interesting to see that the Canadians still felt an affection for her.

    Before reaching the border crossing, we tried to stop and see the 1000 Islands tower hoping to take the elevator to the top but unfortunately it’s only open on the weekends. Next time! The border crossing was fortunately very easy, mainly because there were only two rows of three cars each.

    When we arrived at our accommodation, the receptionist Jolene kept apologising for giving us the “Fisherman’s Cottage” which was a bit run down but was otherwise spacious. It was given the name as it’s where the local fishermen usually stay. She also recommended we book a cruise of the Thousand Islands promptly as they sell out quickly. We managed to get a cruise for tomorrow morning before we depart.

    We were pleasantly surprised when we went to explore nearby Clayton and thought it was beautiful. The town had a whole selection of restaurants and cafes lining the waterfront, with Adirondack chairs to enjoy the view. We parked the car and walked around for about half an hour before realising we hadn’t put any money in the parking meter! We didn’t get booked though.

    After collecting some items from the supermarket we headed back so Ted could watch the tennis and relax before tomorrow.    Læs mere

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