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A 17-day adventure by Andrew Jerome Read more
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  • TravelerFrom Hollywood to Dollywood
    Day 1

    Sydney to Melbourne

    October 13, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today began our journey to the United States again, although not everything fully went to plan! I had an early shift at work this morning, meaning we could take an afternoon flight. Our friend Jo Troy is house sitting for us, so we made sure the house was spotless before she came over. Even after all these trips abroad, I still find the packing process overly stressful. This is probably compounded by the fact that Ted would prefer it if we didn't check a bag in. It makes travelling easier, but packing is so more stressful!

    Getting to the airport was easy. Getting onto a flight wasn't! Upon arrival, we found out our flight to Honolulu had been delayed for about 12 hours. Ted and I talked about our options, as flying to Melbourne to connect to the morning Los Angeles flight seemed like the best idea. Whilst waiting in the airport, I was surprised to see our ex-housemate Justine walk past. We haven't seen Justine for years, and now she was with her husband Orlando, and is expecting a baby. The two of them were similarly trying their luck with staff travel.

    After a quick log-in to staff travel, we picked up our bags and made our way back to the Domestic Airport. We flew business class down, although this was one of the rare occasions where I wasn't fussed if we did! We'd also made a quick booking at the airport hotel, Hyatt Palace, for the night. We had to cancel our hotel booking in Honolulu but fortunately only lost the cost of one night's accommodation.

    The Melbourne hotel is very nice so we aren't disappointed. Tomorrow we will try our luck on the Los Angeles flight but at least we will have a good night's sleep first!    Read more

  • TravelerFrom Hollywood to Dollywood
    Day 2

    Melbourne to Los Angeles

    October 14, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We didn't get as much sleep as we would've liked due to our late arrival last night, but it was still great to have a bed and shower to start the day too. Even more so for Ted who used the hotel gym too. The hotel included breakfast near the reception area, and also a transfer bus to the airport. The bus would've been a much better option if the driver didn't decide to keep delaying our departure to wait for yet another guest who was late to the transfer!

    Once we arrived at the airport, our flight was delayed for an hour, meaning we had more time to sit around, waiting and wondering if we were going to get business class. During our waiting process, we saw Bree Wheeler, one of our friends from Ted's ground school at QantasLink, who was similarly flying to Los Angeles that day. Thankfully luck came for all three of us, as we all got business class to LA. Woo hoo!!

    Business Class was, of course, wonderful. Just being able to get a sleep as well as special meal options makes it all worthwhile. Once we arrived, we called the hotel and asked them to send a transfer bus for us. Unfortunately all that time saved not checking in a bag was lost because the airport transfer never arrived, meaning we needed to take a taxi instead. Since we couldn't check in yet, we left our bags at reception and took another transfer back to the airport to collect our car hire.

    Since we had a whole day free, we thought we would check out some sights. For lunch, we stopped at a local supermarket, where we bought some food from the deli before continuing on. Ted was really keen on seeing the Hollywood Sign up close but it ended up being a real chore. After driving through several Hollywood neighbourhoods to try and see it up close, we found a walking trail that would lead us to it. We scrapped that idea when we realised it was basically an hour walk in the blazing California sun before we would reach it. We again tried to desperately find somewhere in the suburban hills to photograph the sign up close before a squad car told us to get back in our car and leave. Well, we tried!

    We then headed to Mann's Chinese Theatre, which I didn't really have great memories of when I visited there first in 1992. Well the feelings still didn't change, as it is still as run down as before, albeit with more tourists now. We took a few random photos before losing interest and continuing on our way.

    Something I really wanted to see was the house used for the outdoor shots for "The Brady Bunch" TV show. Thanks to the magic of GPS, it was easy to find and I got some great pictures too. There is now a fence around the house, which I suspect is to stop crazed fans from knocking on the door, expecting Alice or one of the kids to answer!

    Once returning to our hotel, we found out that Bree is still in LA. She was meant to fly to Nashville but couldn't get on the flight. The unfortunate thing is that her bag did go, meaning she had no change of clothes or toiletries. We invited her to join us for dinner in Santa Monica that evening. After arriving, we walked around the pier area for a while before settling on a large (and somewhat expensive) bar restaurant. We had originally considered a Mexican restaurant on the pier Ted and I had been to before, but changed our mind as there was a half hour wait. At this place, we ended up waiting just as long! The food was good, but the cost wasn't!

    It's good to be in LA again especially after the cold of Australia. Tomorrow we're here again to explore.    Read more

  • TravelerFrom Hollywood to Dollywood
    Day 3

    Los Angeles

    October 15, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Today was a day I had been looking forward to, as we went to see a lot of the sights that had been recommended to us. After having breakfast at the hotel, we packed up the car as we're changing hotels today (this was our last minute booked hotel after our change of plans). Surprisingly, we haven't been suffering from jet lag so far, which usually ends up being a hindrance in our travels.

    Our first stop was to the Getty Center, which is recommended by Trip Advisor as being the number one sight to see in Los Angeles. It didn't disappoint either, as the view from the Santa Monica Mountains area was beautiful. The inside was worth the cost of admission too, as the gardens and display of art and exhibitions were outstanding. It turns out that John Paul Getty was quite the collector and, even though neither Ted nor I are heavily into art, it was easy to be impressed by such a display of antiques and paintings.

    After the Getty Center, we headed towards Warner Bros Studio, which compared to Universal Studios, is more of a workplace than an amusement park. All the guests were separated into groups and transported around by a tram with a guide. The day was really hot but it didn't stop us from enjoying it. The guide we had however did, as he seemed to pick on me for everything (leaning too far out of the trolley, dawdling, accusing me of filming the sets). There goes his tip!

    In many ways, I liked Warner Bros more than Universal, as it provided a more hands-on approach to the movie and TV making industry. We got to see more of the backstage sets, the prop warehouse and (best of all) a huge display on the DC movies (clearly I was in my element here). The DC display had a lot of the bat-vehicles (batmobile, batplane etc), as well as costumes and props from the recent Wonder Woman movie.

    Another attraction I was really looking forward to was the Central Perk set from the TV show "Friends". Being a big fan of the show, I was more than willing to queue for a photo on the set. What was also great is that the guides would also take photos with your iPhones instead of making you pay for the professional photo. There was also an option to star in a computer generated episode of "Friends" where you could be super-imposed into a scene from the show, but that queue was way too long!

    Before leaving the studio, we each bought a souvenir (a Superman T-shirt and an "Ellen" mug) and then went for a Mexican lunch which was at a cheap little restaurant nearby. It was wonderful - the money they saved on decor definitely went into food quality.

    Our next hotel is in the Redondo Beach area, somewhere we've never been to before. I chose this hotel as the airport hotels were so expensive, and this place turned out to be quite okay. After resting in the afternoon, we walked to a nearby Denny's for dinner. Ted was interested in checking out a local venue but it wasn't exactly a happening place. After talking to just one of the locals, we decided to head back. Looks like an early night for us!    Read more

  • TravelerFrom Hollywood to Dollywood
    Day 4

    Los Angeles

    October 16, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    After a wonderful sleep-in, we continued our sightseeing of La-La Land by heading south to Long Beach to see the Queen Mary. This was another sight that had been recommended to us. Before heading off, we returned to Denny's again for a good, cheap breakfast before leaving.

    Unfortunately, the Queen Mary ended up being something of a disappointment. Whilst Long Beach itself was quite a nice area, the boat wasn't really worth it. When we arrived, we purchased a guided tour as it seemed to be the best way to see everything of value. As it turned out, our guide was a weirdo! Maybe it's just our Australian cynicism, but every time he would speak, I could feel myself and Ted cringing. Some people might describe him as funny and entertaining. We described him as, well, weird.

    The boat was also not as romantic as I'd hoped. Maybe it was the Starbucks they'd installed in it. Maybe it was the movie room that was showing a Spongebob Squarepants movie. Either way, it was hard to imagine the bygone era that the ship stood for. We thought we would get to see some of the cabins, but we didn't. I had originally wanted to purchase one of the longer, more detailed tours, and I was grateful we didn't.

    We spent some time exploring the Long Beach area before heading back. For lunch, we stopped at a local shopping center for Panda Express which is less enjoyable now that I'm vegetarian! After returning to the hotel, I did some quick laundry before we went for a walk down to nearby Hermosa beach for dinner. We really loved it down there - the wonderful beachside atmosphere was a lot more pleasant than the Santa Monica area. After dinner and a few beers, we then caught an Uber back to our hotel.

    Tomorrow we head to the first leg of our journey, which is to North Carolina. These driving holidays of the USA are always some of the best times we've had here.    Read more

  • TravelerFrom Hollywood to Dollywood
    Day 5

    Los Angeles to Charlotte

    October 17, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Our day didn't need to start too early for once, as we were able to sleep in for a change. Instead of going out for breakfast, we had some oatmeal in our room. We even had enough time to go for another look down at Hermosa Beach before leaving. Finding a park was difficult though, as we needed to find a street that wasn't being cleaned by a street sweeper. Fortunately a local business man was good enough to tell us before we had our car towed!

    When we arrived near LAX, we had a tough time finding the Hertz office, which wasn't in one of the several locations we originally thought it was. Once we found it, we transferred to the airport and just needed to check in and wait for our flight. The airport terminal was horrible, as most of LAX is. We settled on a place called Shake Shack for something to eat, since it seemed to be the only decent option besides Burger King. As it turned out, it wasn't decent. The food was miniscule and overpriced, and despite saying coffee on the menu, they didn't serve coffee.

    Our flights with Delta however were more enjoyable, as the cabin crew gave us plenty of snacks (after finding out we were fellow crew of course)! We needed to transfer via Salt Lake City so we grabbed a quick lunch of pizza before our next flight. Our next crew were similarly just as hospitable, and reminded us why we work in aviation for a living! The day ended up being very long though, as we didn't end up arriving at our hotel in Charlotte until after 11pm. I called the hotel asking for a pick-up which came not long afterwards.

    We don't plan on spending much time in Charlotte, as there isn't anything here that appeals to us (the Billy Graham library wasn't really something we wanted to see). Therefore our hotel is quite close to the airport and unfortunately, not that great. But we're here just for a short break before continuing through the state tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerFrom Hollywood to Dollywood
    Day 6

    Charlotte to Asheville

    October 18, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    As predicted, we didn't sleep as well as we'd hoped, mainly because the hotel was right near a highway. Even ear plugs weren't that effective! I ended up setting the alarm so we wouldn't miss breakfast, and it was quite reasonable (any place that serves waffles gets a gold star from me). On the way we stopped at a LIDL supermarket to pick up some snacks. Whilst there an elderly lady tapped me on the shoulder and asked if she could hug me as she's "always wanted to hug Superman" (I was wearing my Warner Bros Superman T-shirt). I mean, how could you say no to that? :-)

    On the way to Asheville we stopped to look at Lake Lure before continuing onto Chimney Rock National Park. I really loved it there. When we arrived, the lady working at the gate realised we weren't Americans and said "I'd just like to apologise for Donald Trump" which wasn't something we were expecting. Chimney Rock was amazing. The walk up wasn't too difficult, and the view over the valley was worth the effort. What was also good was being able to sit in a deckchair and just look at the valley. Which is exactly what we did whilst having our lunch.

    The weather in North Carolina is significantly cooler than California, which I don't mind. After leaving Chimney Rock, we continued onto Asheville, which was listed as one of the top 25 cities in the USA to visit according to Trip Advisor. Once we arrived at our hotel we headed out to explore. To be honest, maybe we missed something. Asheville is nice, but it wasn't quite as amazing as we'd expected. It was even more interesting to see a guy walking around with a snake around his shoulders. The town had a sort of grungy appeal I suppose.

    For dinner, we went to a local Japanese restaurant which was a good choice for dinner. Tomorrow we are headed to nearby Biltmore Estate which I think might be the reason why Asheville rates so highly.    Read more

  • TravelerFrom Hollywood to Dollywood
    Day 7

    Asheville to Gatlinburg

    October 19, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We ended up sleeping better than expected, considering the poor sleep we'd had in Charlotte the night before, thanks to a comfy bed. Breakfast was again included (more waffles!) before we headed towards Biltmore Estate. I'd been concerned about seeing the Estate, as I hadn't been able to buy tickets online. Fortunately there were plenty available on the day.

    Ted had been hesitant to come to the Estate too, particularly since we'd both been disappointed with the Queen Mary. As it turned out, he really liked it. Biltmore Estate was built by George Vanderbilt and is the largest home in the United States. It was like American royalty - almost every room was open to the public, and they were all spectacular too (particularly since they were decked out in Christmas themes). The place even included an antique bowling alley and swimming pool. Similarly the gardens could be walked through. Included in the cost of the entry was free wine tasting at the winery. Even though I couldn't buy any wines to take with us, I certainly couldn't miss out on a free offer!

    For lunch, we tried to eat at the Texas roadhouse which, to our surprise, wasn't open for lunch at all. We then settled on an Appleby's which was a new experience for us as we'd never been to one before. The drive to Gatlinburg was around 2 hours through the Smoky Mountains National Park and, even though I'd originally made plans to see some of the nature sights on the way, decided it would be better to see the town once we arrived instead.

    Before leaving Australia, I had read that Gatlinburg was the better place to stay for adults whilst nearby Pigeon Forge is better for kids. Definitely true. Gatlinburg almost reminded us of a country and western Toontown. Not that it was a bad thing! Everywhere you looked there were moonshine distilleries, country dining and wine bars. We really liked it, as the atmosphere was exhilarating. For dinner, we went to a Mexican restaurant, partly because it had a balcony overlooking the town. Really cool.

    We wandered around and looked at some of the distilleries (with their multi-flavoured moonshine) before heading back to the hotel. We were even lucky to see some racoons peeking at us from the drains. Not something you see every day in Australia :-)    Read more

  • TravelerFrom Hollywood to Dollywood
    Day 8

    Dollywood

    October 20, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Today was a day I'd been looking forward to for a long time, as I finally got to visit the amusement park created by one of my all time favourite singers/celebrities. We started the day moderately early as we wanted to be sure we would be at the Park for the opening, before the crowds became huge. As it turned out, the park never ended up being too bad anyway, which made the day a lot more enjoyable.

    Dollywood is so different to any other amusement park we've seen - it's almost like Disneyland meets Timber Town. There was a lot of emphasis on local arts and crafts and traditional country fare, without the animated characters walking around the park. There was even a chapel there if you wanted to attend a service. It took a while to get used to but truthfully, I loved it. It was great to be in an amusement park that had a lot of charm and character to it.

    One of the good deals we got was the photo card, which once purchased, meant that every photo taken in the park was inclusive. This meant that Ted and I never passed up a single photo opportunity! We went on the majority of the rides too, except the ones that were catered mainly to kids. There were also a lot of attractions centered around Dolly too, including seeing her tour bus, and the story of her life and achievements. Food was definitely not a problem either as we found an awesome buffet restaurant with all that low-fat food that the south of the USA is known for!

    After riding on the Snowy Mountain River Rampage we were completely soaked, so we relaxed in the sun before continuing through the park. Since we were able to return to the park if we wanted, we headed into nearby Pigeon Forge to have a look around. We are glad we didn't stay there instead, as it is really huge. It is almost like a low-grade Las Vegas, with its endless hotels and attractions. Whilst Gatlinburg is easy to walk around, Pigeon Forge would be impossible without a car.

    Ted dropped me off at the Titanic display whilst he went to look around town. The Titanic display was wonderful (and still better than the Queen Mary at Long Beach)! I've always been interested in anything Titanic, and this attraction recreated cabins from the ship, told stories about the passengers onboard, gave an idea about life on the ship, and presented a timeline about the ship's fateful journey. It was definitely worth the entry and I would consider seeing it again some day.

    Since Dollywood was open in the evenings for its "Halloween LumiNights Display", we went back to the park to see it all lit up. Unlike during the day, this was one time when the crowds were huge! It was still great to see even though the throngs of people were everywhere. Ted and I went back to another buffet style restaurant for dinner. I am so glad we did because we got to meet Miss Lillian the Chicken Lady, who sang a song for me on her banjo and gave me a chicken blessing. I was very honored!

    Dollywood turned out to be better than we'd expected, so I'd definitely consider coming back again. Tomorrow we continue our journey to the state of Tennessee!    Read more

  • TravelerFrom Hollywood to Dollywood
    Day 9

    Gatlinburg to Nashville

    October 21, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today we had an early start, as we needed to return our rental car to Nashville airport by lunchtime. Fortunately we would be crossing a date line during our drive, meaning we would gain an hour too, giving us an hour sleep in! Our drive today was somewhat uneventful, particularly since we didn't get a chance to stop in Knoxville on the way. I was only really interested in getting a photo in front of the Sunsphere anyway, just to see if anyone could remember that memorable Simpsons episode.

    Getting to the airport was near impossible, as there were whole sections of the freeway completely closed (no idea why). When we finally arrived we called for an Uber to drop us off at our accommodation. The neighbourhoods surrounding the airport weren't exactly the type you'd want to break down in, so it was good to see our accommodation was in a much more desirable area.

    We are staying at a guesthouse that Ted found on the Mister B&B website. We arrived before we were able to check-in, so we asked if we could leave our bags in order to explore downtown. We again called for an Uber as downtown was not really walkable from our accommodation.

    I'm not sure if I was missing something but to me, Nashville has no charm whatsoever. My impression was just a whole lot of people getting drunk in pubs playing the occasional country and western music, and the occasional beer-mobile going down the street. The town also wasn't that attractive, and lacked any of the character that makes New Orleans appealing. Maybe I just didn't get it. We walked down to the waterfront to have a look and again, it did nothing for me.

    After getting lunch at the appropriately named Pita Pit, we went to the Country and Western Museum to see what it was like. Since neither of us are interested in C&W, paying a lot of money to look at displays we didn't understand seemed like a waste. We felt similar when seeing the Johnny Cash museum. One thing that interested us somewhat was the Goo Goo shop which is one of the early confectioners in Nashville.

    We walked back to our accommodation in the now hot weather (shouldn't have worn jeans!) to meet the hosts of the accommodation. They also have a dog named Rex who immediately recognised us as dog lovers. We did some laundry and rested before getting ready to go to the Grand Ole Opry tonight. Since we've spent a bit of money to see the show, we didn't feel guilty about not seeing any of the museums today.

    As it turned out, the drive to the Opry was awful. Our driver seemed to take forever to get there, meaning our plan to have a formal dinner first was replaced by having a fast food meal instead. Even though we were among the youngest visitors to the show and our tickets were in the back row, we still enjoyed it. Some of the entertainers were great and it did show the appeal of the C&W scene. I am glad we did this or our trip to Nashville may have been a complete disappointment.

    We were keen to go out afterwards, so we called another Uber (almost impossible to find with all the people everywhere after the show!) and headed into a venue called Tribe. There was definitely a good, older crowd there and we managed to talk to a few of the locals. We probably didn't have the late night we'd expected, but it was still good to go out in the Country and Western capital of the United States!    Read more

  • TravelerFrom Hollywood to Dollywood
    Day 10

    Nashville

    October 22, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    After a slight sleep in today, we still had another day to explore Nashville. After having breakfast in the kitchen (coffee and cakes!) we walked towards the Gulch, which is more of an upscale neighbourhood of Nashville. On the way we passed through a farmer's market and one of the large parks, which made us grateful we are staying in the nicer part of the city.

    The Gulch ended up being a really nice area with art galleries, restaurants and high-end pubs. We ended up staying for lunch at one of the pubs before catching (yet another) Uber back to our accommodation. Ted needed to have a nap, so he took a time out. The hosts of our accommodation asked if we'd like to join them for drinks nearby, along with their friends Brian and Angie. Since hanging out with the locals is always one of our favourite things, we definitely couldn't decline.

    I'm not sure of the name of the outdoor bar, but it was definitely popular. There was a local sporting team that turned up there after their game, so there was plenty of people. One of the hosts from our B&B became really drunk so we ended up leaving and going for dinner nearby. Brian lost his mobile phone but didn't seem as concerned about it as we were! The hosts went back early (as the bar staff were refusing them service), so we stayed and had a few drinks with Brian and Angie. Since our accommodation was so close we were able to walk back. We have an early flight tomorrow so we're already packed for the next part of our adventure.    Read more

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