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The New England States
  • Andrew Jerome
syyskuuta 2022

The New England States

29-päiväinen seikkaillu — Andrew Jerome Lue lisää
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    2. syyskuuta 2022
    Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Adelaide to Los Angeles

    2. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Today begins our first overseas holiday since COVID turned the world upside down. Truthfully it has been something I’ve been somewhat apprehensive about since the world has clearly changed, but we are optimistic we will love it again in no time.

    We spent part of the morning at home assessing our options as, ideally we would like to fly in either Premium Economy or Business Class for the long flight. Originally we had intended to transfer via Sydney but after further consideration, decided to go via Melbourne instead. Brisbane was actually the better option but with only one flight available there from Adelaide, there wouldn’t have been a Plan B if the flight was cancelled.

    We had already taken Snoopy to doggy day care the day before so, after packing up the last few items and locking up the house, we took an UBER to the airport. The check in agent gave us our domestic boarding passes, and checked our bag through for the Los Angeles flight too. I bought something to eat before the flight in case there wasn’t a vegetarian option if we got Economy to Melbourne but fortunately, got Business Class anyway. We then had over six hours to kill and contemplated going into the city to pass the time. When we considered the cost of the transport and the money we’d spend on food, a smarter option was to spend the time in the Marhaba Lounge instead which included all your food, drink, internet and comfort for the one price.

    We kept an eye on the passenger loads during this time to see if our chances of an upgrade were likely. I went for a walk to try and find a Customer Service desk and, rather than be assisted by a Qantas staff member, she berated me for having a boarding pass as a standby passenger! I tried to explain that this was given to us by the check-in staff, but decided to end the conversation and find assistance elsewhere. I returned to the lounge, where Ted and I continued our eating marathon to pass the time.

    After leaving the lounge, we checked the loads for the flight, which indicated that there were two Business seats available, and we were the highest listed in priority. Yet despite this, we were given seats in Premium Economy instead! We didn’t have time to question this, but I was still grateful to have received an upgrade.

    The flight departed about 9:30 pm, so I stayed awake for the dinner service before trying to sleep. Unfortunately, my leg cramped during the night, so I didn’t get as much sleep as I would have liked! I also passed the time watching the new Top Gun movie, which was worth the time.

    We arrived in Los Angeles in the evening, and the customs and immigration process, as well as the baggage collection, was actually very efficient. It took a while for us to remember where the airport shuttles operated from, where we waited about 20 minutes until the shuttle arrived. We had needed to book this hotel at the last minute as we had planned to leave Australia originally on the Saturday. The hotel is the airport Holiday Inn which has definitely seen better days!

    There is a McDonald’s just outside the hotel, so we grabbed something small to eat to avoid getting hungry during the night. One thing we have really noticed is the availability of marijuana now - since it has been legalised here, the smell of it is everywhere we go. In our hotel, there was a shower running in the room next door for over an hour, so Ted called the manager who found a tap running whilst no one was there. He apologised for the inconvenience as the noise had been really loud, and offered us a free breakfast tomorrow. Yippee!

    We headed to bed around 10 pm, with the hope that the jetlag does not affect us too badly!    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Los Angeles Day 1

    3. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Ted and I both woke up around 1am as expected, due to jet lag rearing its ugly head! Rather than lie there trying to get back to sleep, Ted went to the hotel 24 hour gym to try and wear down whilst I typed up this blog. After a couple of hours, we managed to fall asleep again. For breakfast we went downstairs to use the vouchers the manager gave us last night - feigning ignorance that we only had one - and managed to score a free buffet breakfast.

    On the news this morning, they issued an excessive heat warning for Los Angeles, which will be here for this weekend whilst here. Even though we couldn’t book into our next hotel until the afternoon, we packed up and took an UBER to the area, as the airport neighbourhood isn’t that exciting. We’re glad we did - the area named the Arts District is a beautiful Art Deco neighbourhood of Long Beach. Our accommodation is equally attractive so after leaving our bags in storage, decided to explore the area.

    One surprise is how quiet it is here - it’s the long weekend so we’re assuming a lot of people have gone away. Today was extremely hot though - we decided to head to the Waterfront but, after walking in the wrong direction for a while, finally got our bearings. I can’t say I enjoyed the walk - the heat was oppressive and I had no water. When we finally arrived at the Waterfront, I bought three bottles of water from the nearest kiosk whilst Ted bought some sunglasses as he can’t seem to find his.

    Ted was keen on PF Chiangs for lunch, so we went there to relax in the AC too. Whilst waiting in a nearby Irish pub, I noticed there was a strange amount of cosplayers walking around before realising there was a Comic Con happening nearby. When we arrived back at our hotel, we really liked our room as it’s spacious and well decorated. The jet lag is really catching up though, as a simple meditation turned into a deep sleep for me.

    After grabbing some breakfast items from the supermarket, we headed to the nearby area for a Thai dinner. Ted then wanted to see one of the local gay bars but after a very long walk, we didn’t like it as it was overly quiet. We headed back to see some other venues before deciding it was too early, so we relaxed back in the room before heading out again. On the way, we met couple of British Airways FA’s who were similarly heading to the LGBT area.

    We finally settled on the Falcon Bar for a while, before the place then became way too crowded making it difficult to move. After a few drinks we headed back about midnight.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Los Angeles Day 2

    4. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    As much as we like our room and hotel, we didn’t sleep so well due to the door leading to the street which would slam every time someone entered or left! Otherwise we slept quite well considering the earlier jet lag we had. After having breakfast, we dressed more cooly than we had yesterday (thongs instead of joggers) before heading out for the day.

    Ted had suggested I go to the nearby Comic Con but since it didn’t start until 11am and crowd numbers were so low, decided to go to the Aquarium instead. I did have a peek inside the venue as we passed it though and felt a bit sad I wasn’t going! Today was unbelievably hot again, which we found out later was quite unusual for LA.

    When we arrived at the Aquarium, we found out they had special times you needed to reserve to enter so, since we couldn’t enter until midday, went to a nearby Bubba Gump Shrimp Company to get a beer and food, and savour the air conditioning. The Aquarium ended up being worth it - even though it wasn’t an economical choice due to the exchange rate, the place is listed as a non profit organisation, so we didn’t mind.

    I ended up taking a lot of photos, as the marine life displayed was amazing. It’s hard to pick a favourite, but we loved the tropical fish, jellyfish and seals the most. When we left, the temperature had dropped considerably due to a cool change. We decided to take an UBER back to the accommodation though - not because of the heat, but because our feet were killing us!

    We relaxed in our room during the afternoon to beat the heat, before getting dressed and heading out to dinner. Ted was keen to try a restaurant called Hamburger Mary’s which the FA’s we’d met last night had recommended. After walking through an interesting neighbourhood, we arrived at Mary’s and sat outside, which proved less appealing due to some screaming queens sitting nearby!

    The meals ended up being basically hamburgers, chips and drinks but the final bill blew us away, as it was over $70. We decided to consider that our welcome meal, and make sure we were more careful next time! Since dessert was too expensive at the restaurant, we stopped at a supermarket and bought an apple pie and Cool Whip to enjoy in the room. Tomorrow we continue our travels as we head to Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Los Angeles to Toronto

    5. syyskuuta 2022, Kanada ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    After another mediocre sleep where we both woke up during the night due to jet lag, Ted and I packed up our luggage before making the trek to the airport for our flight to Toronto, Canada. Thank God we checked our itinerary - both of us had assumed our flight was at 2pm but we were actually reading the flight time for our trip home. Since our flight was actually that morning, I didn’t get time to shave before departing, as it was just a case of throwing everything into the bags, calling an Uber, and leaving.

    Ted had been keen on leaving early regardless as today is a public holiday in the USA, and he feared the airport and the traffic there would both be chaotic. Both ended up being fine although there was a lot of congestion closer to the terminal. The waiting area however was nuts, so we found a quieter area upstairs to chill before boarding.

    I bought a salmon roll to eat before departure which I’m glad I did - the flight was over five hours and was delayed due to the late arrival of the aircraft. One annoying thing was the lack of baggage space onboard - a lot of passengers (not us) had to surrender their hand luggage before boarding.

    The flight was really cold to begin with so we needed our jumpers for most of the flight. Ted spoke to one of the flight attendants and it ended up that she is married to one of the Hawaiian ground agents Ted knew in Honolulu. Of course once they knew we were crew everything changed! They offered us free alcohol, which we took for Gretchen and Dallas, and some snacks for the drive to Collingwood afterwards. We never expect to get anything for free, we’re just happy to meet fellow crew.

    Once we landed in Toronto, we collected our luggage and needed to trek from one terminal to the next to find the car rental office. Due to this and the initial flight delay, we left much later than expected but were then on our way! The drive to Collingwood was almost 2 hours but due to the change in time zones, we weren’t too tired even though it was late. We were starving though as there were no food options between there and the airport.

    We finally arrived at Gretchen and Dallas’s house around 11pm and felt bad because we had kept them awake so late! We were so grateful when they asked if we’d like something to eat, since we hadn’t eaten since early that morning! Gretchen’s nephew Griffin is also staying here, as well as his dog Lincoln. We saw their son Ben briefly before bed, as well as their new dog Biscuit. Even though we were all tired, we ended up talking until 1.30 in the morning.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Collingwood Day 1

    6. syyskuuta 2022, Kanada ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Despite the fact we went to bed so late, Ted and I are still slightly affected by jet lag and woke up around 6am. Gretchen and Dallas both had today off and we started the day well when Gretchen made us pancakes - real pancakes! - for breakfast (unlike the pancake in a shake that I make back home). Ben was starting school today so after Dallas took him to school, we headed out for the day.

    When we arrived yesterday, Gretchen and Dallas had suggested an itinerary full of action such as hiking and kayaking, but when Ted and I said we’d prefer a more laid back time, today’s activities included wineries and cider houses instead. The first place we headed to was the Craigleath Provincial Park, where there were fossils embedded in the stone along the beach. The beach was beautiful and fortunately so was the weather.

    We next headed to the Georgian Hills winery, where we could enjoy a tasting of either wines or ciders. Coming from an area like Adelaide, it was wonderful being able to experience something different. We sat in the dining area and enjoyed some platters whilst we had a few wines however the wasps were a problem as they were attracted to either the drinks or the food platters.

    We stopped at a bakery next where I bought a vegetarian sandwich, which was a relief because the food on the platters wasn’t that filling. We then headed to the nearby waterfalls which were an easy walk, and very much worth seeing. After seeing the falls, we went to nearby Thornbury to try out the craft beers and ciders at a local cider house. I’m not generally a cider drinker, but they offered a flight of four different varieties such as blood orange, rosé and apple, which I really enjoyed trying.

    After having these few drinks in the middle of the day, we headed back for a nap/meditate before dinner. After a few days of restaurant and fast food, it was wonderful being able to have a home cooked meal for a change. Griffin has headed back to his family’s home so the four of us stayed up talking until about 10pm - earlier than last night since both Gretchen and Dallas are working tomorrow!    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Collingwood Day 2

    7. syyskuuta 2022, Kanada ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Gretchen and Dallas were both working today, so Ted and I had planned to explore the area by ourselves. We still felt confident doing it, even without our local guides! Gretchen made us overnight oats for breakfast, and our first stop was the town of Meaford. On the way, we stopped at a supermarket to buy some supplies (like food), as we seem to find it difficult to stick to our budget of not eating out everywhere we go.

    The weather was perfect today, so visiting Meaford was worth it. There were already Hallowe’en displays about, so we walked around town including along the river. We even saw some people playing Pickleball, which is best described as a cross between table tennis and tennis. Apparently it’s a big hit here in Canada!

    Our next stop was Wiarton, where apparently we have been before but I’ve unfortunately forgotten! The town is famous for Wiarton Willie, a Canadian groundhog who takes part in a local festival (I kid you not!) to predict if there will be an early spring. There is even a monument to Willie. The view in front of the lake was the perfect place to eat our lunch too.

    Dallas had recommended visiting nearby Sauble Beach which ended up being a surprise - a nice beachfront area right here in Canada! With its Australian weather, the beach was really welcoming, especially with all the shops and restaurants lining the street that led to the beach. We stopped for a coffee at an outdoor cafe and were impressed with the coffee and iced coffee which were both reminiscent of what we get back home.

    We had earlier driven through a town called Owen Sound which we’d liked the look of, so we headed back to explore it further. Unfortunately I think we’d seen the best of the town from the street as the back areas weren’t so attractive. We stopped into a games shop to buy a board game for Gretchen, Dallas and Ben for looking after us. They love games so it seemed like an appropriate gift.

    We had both liked Blue Mountain Resort on a previous visit, so we went back for another visit today. Whilst there we checked out some different restaurants for dinner, but Dallas suggested eating locally instead as the restaurants were quite pricy. Gretchen and Dallas were also both keen on getting take-away instead, and it ended up being a huge selection of food from a nearby Greek restaurant. We stayed up playing the game “Taboo” before heading to bed. USA tomorrow!    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Collingwood to Thousand Islands

    8. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Thousand Islands to Stowe, Vermont

    9. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 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!    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Stowe to Ogunquit, Maine

    10. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 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    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Ogunquit Day 2

    11. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 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!    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Ogunquit to Bar Harbor

    12. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 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 :-)    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Acadia National Park

    13. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 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.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Bar Harbor to Ogunquit

    14. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 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!    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Ogunquit to Provincetown

    15. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Provincetown

    16. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 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!    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Provincetown Day 2

    17. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ 🌙 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.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Provincetown to Holyoke

    18. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Holyoke to Roxbury

    19. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Roxbury to Mount Morris

    20. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Niagara Falls

    21. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Toronto to Honolulu

    22. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Honolulu

    23. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Honolulu

    24. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 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!    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Honolulu

    25. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ 🌧 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!    Lue lisää

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  • Andrew JeromeThe New England StatesMatkaaja

    Honolulu

    26. syyskuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Lue lisää

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