Noosa babyboomers

Also great stopovers at New Orleans and Honolulu

Driving Stats:    20 States,  5096 miles (8154 km), fuel cost A$1875

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We had a nightmare flight from New Orleans to Hawaii - firstly our flight to Fort Worth Dallas was delayed because of storms. When we did get off it was a very turbulent flight and just as we were about to land the pilot aborted and took off again - we were only about a foot from the ground! Anyway we eventually landed ok and rushed to catch our connecting flight with American Airlines to Hawaii. We had no idea that food wasn’t provided on this flight but it came as more of a shock to find out they ran out of food before reaching us! All that was left was one cookie between  - we went 12 hours on half a cookie, I think a strongly worded letter to AA and Qantas about this is in order.

Anyway we arrived at our hotel at Waikiki and the next day we walked around the beach area and market stalls.

On the Waikiki Beach is a statue to Duke Kahanamoku - he was an Hawaiian Olympic Gold Medal winner for swimming. Between the 1912 and 1924 Olympics he travelled to Australia and mainland USA demonstrating and popularising the Hawaiian sport of surfing.  He is still honoured today and affectionately known as The Father of Surfing - surfers place leis on his statue in respect. Whilst living in California in 1925, he rescued 8 fishermen from their sinking vessel using his surfboard. This means of rescue became accepted by the surf life savers on beaches all over the world.

 We thought it a bit ‘Gold Coastish’ and so decided to hire a car and drive round the island ourselves. We thought we would have a bit of fun and hired a Convertible  PT Cruiser. Wind in our hair, music blaring out - we were young again!

Firstly we drove to see The Pearl Harbour Memorial. We were very lucky it wasn’t a busy day as normally you have to queue for hours. You are shown a film about the invasion and lead up  and how the Americans were completely taken by surprise. All the ships were ’sitting ducks’ but only 3 were completely destroyed. The other were repaired and put back into service. We were then taken by boat to the memorial. This is where The Arizona was sunk with about 1500 men on. There are still 900 bodies inside the wreck.  We were told that when the ship sank there was about 1 1/2 million gallons of oil on board. It burnt for a few days but they estimate there is still half a million gallons of oil inside it. It leaks about a quart every day but they are now finding bacteria growing which hopefully is rendering the oil down.

Next we drove across the middle of the island through spectacular scenery to the East Coast.

We then found a lovely little beach to eat our picnic lunch on.

We drove to the northern beaches to see the bigger surf (which is bigger in winter) and to see the sunset.

We had a lovely day but had to get the car back by 8.00pm. Paul decided it was time I had a drive and seeing as it was easy country roads I thought it a good idea. The plan was t0 change drivers before hitting the big roads! Before we knew it I was caught up in the traffic with no hope of pulling off. We have never seen traffic like it anywhere even on mainland USA. Five lanes travelling at fast speed with Paul giving me directions (via Sat Nav) as to which lane I should be in. I nearly did panic, but then decided that wasn’t going to help and so just got on with it. I drove right back to the hotel - what an adventure.

We had one last walk around Waikiki and then bed as our flight was early next day. As it turned out we had a 4-5 hour delay so we had to entertain our-selfs at the airport. Paul found a WiFi area so we used some of the time to update the web site. Also there were some dancers to keep us entertained.

In Hawaii they don’t say Goodbye - they consider that to be too sad so they say Aloha, which means hello, goodbye, how are you, love, peace, come back soon etc etc

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We booked the hotel for New Orleans on an Internet Last Minute site. We have used these sites before and sometimes we feel as though we are just getting the hotel’s grottiest room. But this Hotel St. Louis was very very nice, The room was very large with a King bed - it maybe could have been a bit lighter but for the price we paid we were more than happy. It wasn’t a 5 star but then we don’t particulary like 5 star. It was full of character and it literally was about 15 metres away from Bourbon Street. Whilst we were there they held about 5 weddings in the courtyard - it was great for functions.

We walked down Bourban Street whilst it was still light before going out to a restaurant to try the local food.

The restaurant brewed it’s own beer 4 types which you could buy samples of and then we ordered Gumbo for our meal. Gumbo is actually an African dish adopted by the locals. It is a type of thick soup made from seafood or chicken and sausage and served over rice - delicious! We finished of the meal with the local desserts - bread pudding in rum sauce and key lime tart. Very nice!

After the meal we walked down Bourbon Street - you have to see this to believe it. It is amazing. People, music, drinks, beads, girls the whole works, but fun, fun, fun.

We stopped and listened to one jazz group which is called the same name as the leader - Steamboat Willie. I am assured that is his correct name, his mum was a singer and she actually named him Steamboat! They were excellent and we ended going back every night to listen to them.

We got talking to this old bloke called Charlie 2 Shoes (because he wear 1 gold and 1 black shoe) anyway he goes every night to this cafe, he used to sing and play guitar with a lot of the ‘greats’ in jazz but unfortunately the drink has got to  him and now he makes a few bob busking.

But he was very interesting and told us a lot about what happened when Katrina hit the town. It wasn’t really the hurricane that did the damage, it was the fact that New Orleans is in like a bowl, and is mostly at least 6 ft below sea level. New Orleans is surrounded by bayou’s and lakes and the wind from the hurricane swept up the water in one of the large lakes and produced a 30ft wave which went over the top of the levee which surrounds the city also I believe one of the levees protecting the city from the sea also broke and filled the ’bowl’ with flood water.  They did have a water pump but this was flooded, so they were unable to get rid of the water for about 2 weeks. They now have underground and above ground water pumps in case it happens again. The French Quarter (all the quaint street round Bourbon Street) didn’t flood at all. Anyway they all had to be evacuated whether they wanted to or not - even at gun point! After a whole week Charlie 2 Shoes was sent to Nashville in Tennessee and looked after by volunteers. They were each given $350 and heaps of new clothes.

Afterwards we walked up Bourbon Street again and caught some beads being thrown from balconies.

All the shops sell these beads from simple to very very elaborate. This tradition started years ago on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) before Lent started there was a lot of eating and celebrating and giving of small gifts. It has now developed into guys wanting to see the boobs and bums and then rewarding with beads. Did Judy show her breasts for the beads? You do get caught up with the atmosphere and after all no-one knows you -  but that’s our secret - what happens in Bourbon Street stays in Bourbon Street!

At this point I must also mention the drinks they serve in Bourbon Street. They have what they call a Hurricane, and also a Hand Genade. Both contain secret ingredients. Paul had the Hurricane and was slurring his words for the rest of the evening! We were told the Hand Grenade was lethal so decided to try that one the next night. It is served in this long glass with a grenade shape on the base and a little grenade squirter in the top. It was very nice! It went straight to Paul’s head and next thing he was dancing in front of the ‘Shadow Strippers’. Did Paul actually go and see the strippers? Well again that’s our secret. What happens in Bourbon Street stays in Bourbon Street!

Later that night we saw a Wedding Party parading through the streets with the band playing - it was good to see the Bride and Groom dancing along the street.

Next day we took a Swamp Tour through the Bayou. It was lovely and peaceful (after Bourbon Street) - we were told by the guide how a 30′ wave came through that area during Katrina. A house was wash away about a mile, but the owner said most things were still in place - even plates on the table! There were no mosquitoes at all. The guide said the swamp is so ‘alive’  with creatures they are controlled. We never had one bite. Catfish, crawfish, prawns and heaps of other delicacies are caught for food in the swamps.

We saw some alligaters and an animal called a Nutria which is a large rat. It was introduced and has become a pest eating everything all day long.  

Next day we took a tour to a Plantation House called Oak Alley. On the way we travelled through roads which cut through the Bayou and crossed the Mississippi River.

Oak Alley Plantion is so named because of the 28 large oak trees leading to the house and the owner had 28 pillars round the house to match. It was quite a nice place although we were hurried through as a private function was going to be held. The owners had about 50 slaves to farm and harvest the sugar cane. They eventually went broke and everything had to be sold off, even the slaves. There was a inventory of the prices of all goods and chattles and the slave valuations varied from $1500 down to $25 for a poor chap who was ’sickly’. We tried the local drink ‘Mint Julep’ which is a mixture of mint syrup and bourbon and it was delicious. I bought some of the mint syrup to take home.

We visited the cemetry and saw the tomb of the famous Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. Because New Orleans is so low lying they buried the dead above ground, hence sometimes you got 3 story tombs!

 We had a great time in New Orleans it was such fun and we will always remember it, but it is time to move on. Hawaii is waiting and then home.

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After checking into the hotel  which seemed miles away (but we didn’t want to pay $500 per night) we decided to go straight to the action and caught a Metro to Times Square. You should see the enormous Toys R us store - it even has a big Ferris Wheel and all the sights of New York done in Lego.

After walking for some time we decided to buy a 3 day pass on the hop on hop off bus. Next stop was The Empire State Building. First glimpse of the building was quite exciting and impressive.

Although we had to queue for over half an hour, we were lucky as earlier in the day it could be up to an hour or more. Of course there is all this tight security all over the US now and so everything is slowed up, we had to take everything out of our pockets, remove belts, shoes and no sharp objects at all. You can imagine the parlava with Paul and all his electronic equipment!  Anyway, the lift is amazing  you hardly feel you are moving and the view from the top is fantastic. 

After a walk round that area we then caught the bus for a night tour

Next day we went to Statue of Liberty by ferry. We were lucky enough to be the last to get tickets to go inside the Statue as these are very limited.There is very tight security for this site and so it was still quite a wait in the queue. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t too good that day but it was still a thrill to see her standing in the harbour.

 You can’t go to the top any more but you can go to the top of the platform she stands on. It is still surprisingly a long way up - so we took the lift.

Once inside there is a museum explaining everything about the making and history.
Evidently it was given to the people of the US by the French and it was paid for entirely by donation from the French people. It was to commemorate the Centenary of Independence from the British (the French helped the Yanks - of course). Anyway it was designed by this chap Bartholdi and he sculpted Liberty on his mother. He acquired the help of Gustave Eiffel to help build it - in fact looking inside it is like a miniature Eiffel Tower.

It was built in France and then disassembled and shipped to USA. She stands 151 ft tall and the platform she is on is another 154 ft and coated with thin sheets of copper. Plaster casts were first made and then copper moulded over the casts.

As the US had to build the platform at a huge cost - they decided they would make her into a Lighthouse and so they cut holes in the original lamp and glazed it - this turned out to be disasterous as it leaked and eventually rusted the iron frame inside. The lamp was then replaced as the original and all the iside frame has since been replaced with stainless steel.

We learnt that the broken chains round her feet signify freedom and she has one foot in front, which means she is moving forward. The script in her hand has 4th July meaning Independence and her crown has 7 points indicating 7 continents - meaning that US has accepted immigrants from everywhere. The torch represents Enlightenment.

There was a beautiful poem written by Emma Lazarus in 1903 which says it all about immigration.

Next we went on the ferry again to Ellis Island. This is where all immigrants were processed when they first arrived.

 It was quite emotional just seeing the old cases and packages - all their possessions.

Everyone had high hopes for a new life in ‘The Lucky Country’. During the Irish Potato famine thousands came to the US starving - and all in all millions of people were accepted from every country. The picture shows the peaks and lows over since immigration started. The only real low was during WW11.

This picture shows immigration around the world, we had to take a shot of this as (along with my family) Paul and I were part of 1,000,000 who went to Australia between 1965 and 1975.

After taking the ferry back to the mainland we walked toward the site of The World Trade Centre. Along the way we passed Wall Street and some people having a bit of fun with the Bull Market.

We also passed The Sphere - this was in the World Trade Centre Garden for 30 years symbolising World Peace. It survived the tragic events of 9/11 with just a few dents and now stands as a temporary symbol of Hope,Endurance and the Indestructible Spirit of the USA.

At the site we saw much construction going on - they are really making progress and the site should be completely restored by 2009.

 We saw models of how the new buildings will look and in the gardens there will be reflecting pools which were the footprints of the original WTC.

Next day we took our bus and stopped at the Dakota Building where John Lennon was shot and then walked into Strawberry Fields.

‘Imagine’  - Very moving experience. 

After leaving here we then decided to hop on the bus again and couldn’t believe our eyes when we met someone from our home town of Tewantin.  Don Drysdale (the ex Funeral Director) was getting on the same bus. Unbelievable!

We stayed on the bus as it was a bit rainy and saw all the touristy things Broadway, Harlem, Times Square etc. We also stopped at Grand Central Station which is such a beautiful place - for a railway station anyway.

We had some take away in Union Square and took a picture of Paul under a digital clock which reading from the left tell you the current time and then reading from the right backward tells how much time is left in the day.

We went back to our hotel exhausted and ready to move on the New Orleans the next day.

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After leaving Niagara we headed East across New York State and came across a beautiful area called Lake George. This is the site of one of the worst events of the French and Indian War. We stopped at Fort William Henry and decided to take a tour, and are we pleased we did. This is an exact reconstruction of the original English Fort destroyed by the French in 1757.

 It is the scene of fierce fighting between the French and their Indian Allies and the English and their  Indian Allies the Mohicans. If you have seen the movie Last of the Mohicans, the story is about this battle at this fort and a how a few English were left to defend the fort even though reenforcements could have been sent. The English surrendered and the French disarmed them and assured safety for the men, women and children. But the Indians allied to the French wanted ‘The spoils of War’ and felt cheated that they came out with  nothing. They went on a rampage and massacred and butchered the wounded and sick left at the fort. And the next day the 2000 men, women and children being marched to another English fort were also set upon by the marauding Indians and 300 of them were butchered.

The tour we took was told by an actor who told the story as one of the English soldiers.
We were shown how to load and fire an old Musket and Cannon. They made it very interesting and then we looked around the fort later on our own.

After leaving New York State we passed through Vermont. We came upon a pretty town with a lovely covered bridge in the centre.

We then drove out of the town and found a Maple Syrup Farm. It wasn’t the right season for  collecting the syrup but a short film explained how it was done.  There is only a short collection time of about 6 week in March/April when the weather just starts to warm up during the day but still freezes at night. On a warm day water flows from the tree roots and mixes with the natural sugar and produces sap. A hole is drilled into the tree and a tap inserted from which a bucket is hung to collect the liquid. It takes 40 gallons of liquid to produce 1 gallon of Maple Syrup! The tree has to be 40 years old before it is ready to produce.It has to be boiled straight away to get rid of the water content as that liquid soon deteriorates. Like olives there is different tasting syrup at different times of tapping.We tasted many products  and enjoyed the experience.

We drove to the coast through New Hampshire to Portsmouth. Here we treated ourselves to a Lobster Lunch. This are is famous for it’s seafood, Lobster being the most sought after. Very nice and we lucky it was Thursday as they have a special - 2 lobsters for US$20,bargain!

After Portsmouth we are heading towards Boston and come across Salem. This is the site of the famous “Witch Trials in late 1690’s and we decide to stay the night there. We went to the famous American author, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s house. It was here he wrote his famous novel The House of the 7 Gables and also The Scarlet Letter which was made into a movie starring Demi Moore. He evidently was quite depressed after finding out that his great great grandfather was The Hanging Judge at the Witch Trials. And he was tormented by this fact.

We did a tour of the house at night and in each room  actors reenacted scenes from the time of the trials. It was very scary that these people were accused on such flimsy evidence. We saw their graves in the town.

 Of course everything in the town is ‘Witchy and Spooky’ but it was a lot of fun without being over the top we felt. That night was the start of the  Harvest/Halloween season and so there was a street parade. Mainly the kids dressing up and having fun.

We were told that Boston was a nightmare to drive through, so we decided to take the ferry from Salem to see the city. This journey takes 45 minutes and cost $15 return which we thought was quite reasonable. It also let us have a great view of the city whilst entering Boston Harbour.

This of course is where the famous Boston Tea Party took place. Because the English imposed high taxes on everything and especially tea - the colonials as a protest stormed 3 cargo ships and tipped all tea into the harbour.  The next 2 years saw lots of incidents happen which eventually led to The War of Independence.

We went to see the house of Paul Revere in Boston - he is the guy who supposedly rode at midnight to warn the Patriots of the impending English march toward Concord to confiscate their weapons. It was this incident that led to confusion which resulted in the first British Soldiers being killed and thereby the start of The American War of Independence.  This house is the oldest house left in downtown Boston, which is quite a shame really. Paul Revere of course was immortalised in the famous poem by Longfellow.

We walked around the city looking at various sites and came across a Boston Fried Dough Stall. We had to try this. It literally is fried dough! You then sprinkle with icing sugar and eat. It was quite nice but probably full of cholesterol. 

After Salem we drove to Concord and saw the site where the English Soldiers were killed resulting in The American Civil War

Centenary Memorial for ‘The Shot that was heard around the World’

In the town itself we discovered Louisa May Alcott’s house where she wrote Little Women. We took a tour and I have to say it was most interesting. The guide was very knowledgeable and we really felt part of the Alcott family. The story is loosely based on her own family and that house, but in actual fact the story was set whilst they were younger. Anyway we both enjoyed it greatly. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photo’s inside, which is a real shame as they were a very talented family of artists and musicians.

We then decided to have a look at Plymouth. This is where The Pilgrim Fathers first arrived and settled in US on The Mayflower.The British donated a replica of The Mayflower back in 1957.

 We also saw the famous Plymouth Rock which is supposedly the rock the settlers fist set foot on in the New World back in 1620.

We walked round the town, but because of it being a long weekend (Columbus Day) and everything was booked out along the coast, we thought we had better make tracks to find a site for the night.

Well, we didn’t manage to find a campsite that night and had to park in a street in one of the outer suburbs of New York. We felt quite safe though as it was drive in Citibank area which was well lit up and plenty of cameras.

We drove to the depot next morning and said goodbye to what had been our home for the last 4 weeks.

New York City here we come.

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After Washington we made our way north through Maryland and into Pennsylvania calling in at Gettysburg. This is the site of one of the worst battles in the civil war. It is also where Abraham Lincoln made his famous ‘Gettysburg Address’. He was horrified to see the carnage and that bodies were still lying around one week after the battle. He had the bodies buried in a circle round the area he gave the address from.

 We carried on through Pennsylvania - we didn’t actually stop at many towns but just enjoyed the beautiful countryside.

Along the way we saw a few Covered Bridges - the cover is to protect the bridge from the inclement weather.

We crossed into New York State and came across a hive of activity in a small town along the way. Stopping to see what was happening we saw heaps of pumpkins being sold and also what they called a ‘Pumkin Cannon’ being fired. You could purchase a pumpkin and then it was inserted into the cannon and fired off with enormous velocity over trees and into a field some distance away.! I think it may have been for charity.

At this stage we should mention that it is Fall Festival time and coming up to Halloween and of course the American’s celebrate these with a lot of  enthusiasm.  Nearly all the houses have some form of decoration ie pumpkins, scarecrows, corn and lots of flowers and leaves. Other have already decorated for Halloween with witches, pumpkins, ghosts etc etc. And a lot incorporate the two  festivals together. Here are a few examples of these decorations.

Note the 6 Scarecrows!                                                                          

Anyway on to The Niagara Falls. We were told that the Canadian side is the best view as you could see both falls face on. So we paid 2 tolls to go over the bridges into Canada.
We found a nice camp site outside the town and the bus stopped right outside the gate every half hour.
We caught the bus into town that night and were very surprised at just how ‘glitzy’ it is - but fun.
Anyway we walked down to the American falls. They are spectacular and different coloured lights are spotlighted on to them at night.

We then went to the Casino for a bit of fun - although it wasn’t fun as we lost our money (just a small amount).

The next morning we went into town again to the Canadian Falls first. You stand so close to them it is amazing. You could just stand and look at them for ages. The Canadian Falls are a sheer powerful drop giving off a great deal of miust. The American Falls are smaller and not as powerful and there are a lot of rocks at the base, but very pretty.

 We saw The Maid in the Mist boat go right up to the falls and decided that’s what we wanted to do.

We walked back past the American Falls to where you catch the boat. Everyone is given a disposable raincoat (and boy did you need them).Firstly we were taken to the American Falls and then on to the Canadian ones. There is no way you could risk taking photo’s when so close to the falls as the camera would have got wet through, but it was very exhilarating and we were so thrilled to have had the experience. We were completely surprised at just how close to the falls they took us. It was the best US$14 we have ever spent!

Next we move on to New England.

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After leaving Nashville we made our way through Tennessee towards The Smoky Mountains (spelt without the e). At the base of the ‘Smokies’ we came across a place called Pigeon Forge. It was in the middle of nowhere but there was every conceivable form of entertainment you could think of. Similar to Surfers Paradise or Blackpool! Obviously a lot of people must visit as there were hundreds of motels. Also it was full of Christmas Outlets stores - huge warehouses and every type of decoration.

The trees were decorated with themes and every colour combination you could think of. There were even armed forces tree trimmings and trimmings for shooters like the one pictured of the hunting dogs and bullets!

Next morning we set off early to The Smoky Mountains. These are in the Appalachians Mountain Range which go through Tennessee right up to New York State. There is a Ridge along the top which is call The Blue Ridge Parkway with a road that runs all the way along it for over 400 miles to Washington. We were told this is the most visited National Park in the US. The Smoky Mountains are named because of the smokey haze caused by Hydrocarbons given off by the foliage. This area is also the home of Hillbillies and Blue Grass Music.

We came across an old working flour mill - used for grinding corn using the stream water and were given a demonstration by the old chap there.

We stayed on this road for about 50 miles, as beautiful as it was we needed to move more quickly.

We drove through North Carolina and then into The Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Of course Virginia is where most of the Civil War was fought and so we looked at a few battlefields before calling at Lexington where General ‘Stonewall’ Jackson lived and worked as a teacher at the Military Academy there. We went round his house and learned a lot about him and the Civil War.

Also we were to see Robert E. Lee’s Chapel and graves in the Academy grounds, but it was closed for 3 days whilst replacing the carpet! We did however see where his horse ‘Traveler’ was buried in the grounds. Some consolation!

Judy bought some bread from the Amish Farmer’s Market. They evidently so not believe in living the modern American way of life - and have very few material things.

Just outside Washington we stopped at a place called Manassas. This was a museum  set on the actual civil war battlefield location. The canons were laid out in the exact positions of the original battle and memorials placed where important soldiers fell.  Inside the museum we were shown the battle strategies using lights and it was most informative and interesting. We found out this was where the first land battle (as opposed to sea) was fought in the war.

On to Washington - the camp we were at was just outside the city, so we had to take a bus ride and then go by Metro. The Metro was very fast and very clean and safe. Once in the city we decided to take one of these hop on hop off bus rides, which we find well worth the  money.Our first stop was the Washington Memorial. This is a structure which a tribute to George Washington, is over 550 ft tall. Inside we took the lift to the top - it only took a few seconds and was a very smooth ride with no feeling of speed. At the top the views of Washington were fantastic.

No other structure in Washington is allowed to be built higher than this memorial - which goes to show just how much respect there is for this man. All the skyscrapers are over the river in Virginia and not in Washington itself.

We then went by bus again and saw the Thomas Jefferson Memorial - which was an absolutely beautiful building.

 We then stopped at the Abraham Lincoln Memorial and The Capitol Building which are also is magnificent. But then all the buildings are  magnificent.

The Korean War Memorial was quite beautiful - it depicts 19 soldiers. US, South Korean and Allies walking through small bushes. Along side of this was a mirrored wall which reflects the soldiers and therefore makes it look like there are 38 of them. This 38 represents the 38th Parallel which is exactly the border between North and South Korea.

We were not allowed into the White House - there is evidently a 6 month or so waiting list for that, but we did do a ‘virtual’ tour of the inside which was very informative and comprehensive. We were allowed to view the house and garden outside.

We called into the Air and Space Museum and actually touched a peice of Moon Rock which was quite a thrill. Also we saw the original space capsule John Glenn went in, plus all the other ’space bits and peices’.

It was very interesting to read about the Wright Brothers and to actually see Kitty Hawk - the first powered plane used by them.

We also saw The Spirit of St Louis used by Charles Linburgh on his flight across the Atlantic, which is much smaller than we had imagined.

At the end of the day we took a tour to Arlington Cemetry. This is where all the ‘important’ soldiers and ‘important’ people are buried. We saw John F Kennedy and Jacquie Kennedy graves and way out on his own Bobby Kennedy.

We also saw the graves of The Space Shuttle Disaster Crew, Challenger Disaster Crew and the helicopter crew which died trying to save the hostages held in Iran.

We witnessed a Changing of the Guard Ceremony at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Actually it’s Unknown Soldiers from WWl. WW2 and Korean Wars. There used to be one from the Vietnam War, but since DNA testing they found out who he was and relocated him to his home. He has never been replaced!

An interesting story we heard about Arlington was that originally the land was owned by the family of Robert E Lee’s wife and that they lived in Arlington House prior to the Civil War. When war broke out  Lincoln asked Robert E Lee to be a General in the Union Army. He refused as he was from Virginia he said he could not fight against his own family. He then joined the Confederates and moved to Lexington.  Arlington House was then taken over by the Union and they imposed a heavy tax on the place which could only be paid in person (trying to capture him). Anyway he didn’t return and to stop him from wanting to claim the place back after the war they decided to bury 2 0r 3 thousand Union Soldiers in Mrs Lee’s beautiful garden which she so loved. They never returned. But his son was paid a token amount for the grounds which he then donated as a cemetery for all American Soldiers.

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After finding a camp site for the night we drove into Oklahoma City and parked at an area they call Bricktown (no prizes for guessing why it is called that). This is a fairly newly renovated area for entertainment.

We were not that impressed so caught the trolley bus to the National Memorial. This is the site of the Oklahoma Bombing in 1995. We found it to be a very moving experience - 168 people were killed (19 of which were young children) and 800 were injured. The memorial consists of 168 empty chairs on the site of the bombed building they are in 9 rows each row representing a floor of the 9 story building and each chair represents who was killed on that floor. The small chairs represent where children died.

Where the street once was in front of the building is now blocked off with a wall at both ends, one inscribed with 9.01 and the other 9.03 which signifies one minute before and one minute after the bombing. In between the walls is what they call The Reflecting Pool signifiying the time of the bombing at 9.02.

There is a tree nearby they call The Survivor Tree - so called because it survived the bombing and gives hope for the future.

The city itself we found to be quite uninteresting - having no shops or anything much except a business area, so we drove out to a large Shopping Mall and had a beautiful Mexican meal before going back to the camper for the night.

The next day we drove through Arkansas - we found this to be very rural and so just enjoyed the drive through stopping one night only on the banks of the Arkansas River.

We arrived into Memphis (Tennessee) early and went straight to Graceland. At this point I should mention that our Tom Tom (Satellite Navigation System) has proved to be the most valuable piece of electronics equipment Paul has ever had. We have never got lost once in any of the cities and it also has proved to be invaluable at finding camp sites etc.

Graceland was just the best experience ever and even Paul (who is not an avid Elvis fan) enjoyed the whole tour. The house we found was not as big as expected, but very intimate and quite homely. You felt part of the family. There were commentaries by Priscilla and Lisa Marie as well as Elvis himself. We also saw his aeroplane (next door) and his car collection.

Later that day we walked round the city and enjoyed the music, drinks, food and the atmosphere of the famous Beale Street. It was fantastic. We ate Hickory Smoked Ribs whilst listening to blues and rock bands. The famous drink of the street is called ‘A Diver’ this is guaranteed to make you go down down down! It is gallon bucket mixture of beer, wine, rum and other secret ingredients. You are each given a long straw and the drink is then shared between you. As you can imagine the whole street was buzzing in a short time.

Next day toured the city by trolley bus. We did a tour of Sun Studio where Elvis did his first recording. Also many other stars of the time including Johnny Cash, Ike Turner, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins etc etc. We got to see the piano that Jerry Lee Lewis played whilst recording Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire (he evidently did this in one take) and also we had a lot of fun posing with the original mic that all the stars used! We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and the young guide was very interesting and funny.

We reluctantly left Memphis and moved on to Nashville. We expected a sort of ‘hick’ town with lots of cowboys and country music. We were very surprised to find an upmarket city which had still managed to keep its character and history. We took a tour and the guide pointed out all the places of interest. Obviously music is what makes the city tick - there are heaps of recording studios including RCA where Elvis recorded most his songs. We were very surprised to learn there are about 30,000 song writer in the area - this includes Gospel, Blue Grass, Blues, Country etc. The famous building is The Grand Old Opry (short for Opera) and they have just built a new Symphony Centre, so you can see they cater for all types of music.

Nashville is evidently a very rich city the main industry being in Health which is worth about US$18 billion, tourism bring a couple of billion if I remember correctly what the driver was saying. Unemployment runs under 4%.

We were very surprised to see a full sized replica of the Greek Parthenon. This was build in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centenary Celebrations and is very impressive to say the least.

Later in the day we went to a shopping outlet centre and we have never seen anything so huge - hundreds of outlet shops and fantastic restaurants. We literally walked miles!

I have to say we have enjoyed Tennessee so much and only wish we could have spent more time here - but we are half way through the journey now and must push on up North.

Colorado Springs to Oklahoma

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Found a lovely place just outside Colorado Springs called Manitou Springs -quite trendy and just at the base of Pike’s Peak which is the highest peak in this area over 14000 ft you can drive to the top but we decided not to in the RV. In winter it is a big skiing area. There are many Soda Water Fountains around the town and the water tasted great. Real soda water.

There is a rocky outcrop which they call The Garden of the Gods - gorgeous red rocks.

Also Indian cave dwellings which are about 900 years old - they were perfect shapes to say they had no measuring tools of any description.They were 2 or 3 stories high and originally were built without windows or doors on the ground floor to protect from marauding tribes.

We reluctantly left this area (had we known we were going to be well ahead of time we would have stayed longer) - and made our way just south to a place called Royal Gorge. This is a gorge more than 1000 ft deep with the highest suspension bridge in the world going across, which you can walk over. For the more adventurous you can bungee jump from the bridge or parachute from the cable car which also goes across. Also there is the steepest incline railway which goes down to the bottom of the gorge - that was our adventure!

That, unfortunately was the end of our stay in Colorado - it is a fantastic place and we could have easily stayed for longer.

Our journey then took us through the top part of New Mexico. Our first stop a town called Raton. This area made famous being on the Santa Fe Trail.

Just outside Raton is an extinct Volcano at a place called Capulin. The whole area is fairly flat around here with the odd outcrop or mountain. We drove to the top of the volcano and Paul walked down into the crater. The views were beautiful and although it looks uninteresting we really enjoyed the landscape. All the way through New Mexico there were native deer just feeding amongst the cattle.

Further along the Santa Fe Trail we came across fairly deserted towns - one of which was Des Moines where we filled up with petrol.

The last town we went through before the Texas border was a small town called Clayton. Just before entering the town we passed a cattle sale which was to be held the next day. We have never seen so many cattle! There were thousands - We just had to take a picture.

We crossed into Texas and found the whole area to be more fertile and large crop growing farms. It was a fairly uninteresting drive to Amarillo arriving on Sunday night. The city was lovely but unfortunately we found that almost everything interesting was closed on a Monday and so after doing a few ‘touristy’ type things like visiting a restaurant which advertises if you can eat their 72 oz steak within 1 hour you can have it for free! (We didn’t attempt this). But after seeing stuffed Rattlesnake head keyrings and stuffed Armadillos toting guns and wearing 2 gallon hats, we moved out.

We travelled along the old Route 66 road and called at a few of the now near deserted towns along the way.

We crossed the border into Oklahoma and found that as we were in Tornado Alley public shelters started to appear along the highway.

We noticed here in Oklahoma that Route 66 was much more cared for and obviously they are well aware of just how much of a tourist attraction it is now becoming. On the way to Oklahoma City we called at a place called Clinton and stopped at the Route 66 Museum - which we found to be very interesting and nostalgic.

We camped for the night at Red Rock Canyon - this is a State Park camping area which we have found to be excellent and reasonably priced. For US$13 per night it includes electricity, water and sewerage connection, plus they usually are in the most scenic areas.

Next morning we set off for Oklahoma City. Along the way we came across Fort Reno which was used by the cavalry to protect whites and friendly Indian tribes from hostile Indian tribes.

We arrived early in Oklahoma City and went straight to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. This tribute is similar to our Stockman’s Hall of Fame at Longreach. It covered every aspect of cowboys - sculptures, paintings, Cavalry,Indians etc etc. But also the Western Movies - with tributes to the old Western stars, in particular John Wayne (who contributed many items to the museum), Roy Rogers, Burt Lancaster, Barbara Stanwick etc. Also Tv shows like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Lone Ranger etc. We really enjoyed this experience.

Finally - we must show you the most moving sculpture entitled The End of the Trail. It shows a tired Indian and Horse, as if they are exhausted with the struggle for freedom and accept the inevitable.

We arrived in Las Vegas at 7.00am after a very good flight and met up with Daniel.  We checked out all the famous Casinos and had $5 in all of them - a few wins a few losses so more or less came out even.

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 We went to see an Elvis Presley Tribute Show which was very good - Judy had her picture taken with him - the picture doesn’t actually do him justice as he looked very good on stage, and his singing was excellent.

Very early Tuesday morning Daniel flew off to London and later we went to pick up the RV.  As it was a bit late in the day we only travelled 60 miles before we had to find a camp for the night near the Utah border.Next day we crossed into Utah and  made our way to Bryce Canyon arriving about mid-day. We drove to the National Park entrance and caught Shuttle Bus to the main viewing areas. The scenery was spectacular and very colourful.

 We stopped on a Forestry Camp Site for the night at Red Canyon - which was absolutely glorious and the camp site was in a beautiful setting.

After breakfast we set off across Utah and the landscape was awesome - sometimes desolate like the moon, sometimes like cowboy movies and other just plain spectacular. We enjoyed every part and the roads were fantastic.

 We crossed Green River where dinosaurs and fish fossels are in abundance.

We drove over the border into Colorado and immediately the scenery changed and we could see the ‘Rockies’ in the distance. We camped that night at Grand Junction and decided we would take the road to Colorado Springs via Denver the next day.

Set off fairly early and made our way over the the Rockies - needless to say this was just how you would expect - glorious scenery.  We stopped for a coffee at Glenwood Springs and read all about the history of the place and the building of the road. Very interesting.  We drove on through the mountains - passing through lots of ski resorts including the famous Vail at 10,000 ft. 

We went through the Johnson and Eisenhower tunnels at 11,000 ft and then started dropping down toward Denver. We stopped a short while to see Buffalo Bill’s grave before by-passing Denver on our way to Colorado Springs for the night.