New York - Day 2

Where are we?

Wednesday started unlike any other on this trip so far: with Dave caving to the temptation of a McDonald's sausage and egg mcmuffin (it took you three weeks, Ronald, but your insistent store placement and free wifi finally got the better of me). After this, it was on to Rockefeller Centre, where we started with the NBC Studio Tour (80% same content as when I did it in 2006 - but my major fan-age of Tina Fey's 30 Rock since then made the experience all the more enjoyable). I even got to be the volunteer who did the weather against the green screen. I like to think I'm a natural. All the US tourists got a kick out of my accent, and I think the female page was even flirting with me... whatever girlfriend, it ain't happening. 

After the tour, we did the one hour Rockefeller Centre history tour, which was very informative. Who knew art could be so influential, eh?

Then came Top of the Rock, with more skyline views of Manhattan... all very well and good. 

Prue and I treated ourselves to macaroons and coffee after all these midtown activities, then we made our way to 103rd street to check out the New York History Museum, before walking across Central Park in the rain (Prue witnessed my terrible umbrella-sharing tendencies) to catch the train back to our hotel at 44th street. 

That evening, it was time for the first of 5 (maybe 6) Broadway shows of my trip: Newsies. Thanks go to Prue for tolerating my repetitive humming and singing of all the songs over the last 48 hours - you're a trooper. Newsies was one of the best shows I have seen during my 25 years - the choreography, music, set design - all brilliant. Great narrative also. My brother Doug and I rate musicals by the number of "goosebumps moments" they yield. There were no less than 10 during Newsies - a new benchmark, faw shaw [for sure]. Note that all those expecting souvenir Playbills will receive one. 

After the show, it was on to Times Square for a late night explore and some fun photos. A homeless guy pushing a trolley yelled at me for getting in his way. Only in New York can you have this happen to you and be pleased to put it down as just another "cultural experience". You're a savvy city, New York.

Ready for Newsies! (No... I didn't wear the hat to the theatre... I was forbidden.
Michael Barry reborn, once again!)

The last stop before home was American Eagle Outfitters. After browsing many a fashion chain during my time here, I concluded to Prue that "this fall, the look is all about mis-matched patterns and bold colours." She replied: "Dave, time to go home."

Goodnight readers. 

My Favourite City: NYC

After crossing much of middle America on a mid afternoon flight from Houston, I arrived to New York right on sunset, and was greeted by a window seat view of the skyline of my favourite city in the world. That's right. The world. Deal with it, Australia. 

So pleased to be reunited with my beautiful friend Prue who flew over on the same day to travel with me for 10 days before commencing a semester of her studies in Pennsylvania. After staying our first night near JFK, on Tuesday morning we trekked (by which I mean a private transfer, of course) to our hotel in the heart of Manhattan, one block from Times Square. After dumping our bags, we headed to the nearest subway station, destined for Chelsea where we'd planned lunch with Luci - an Armidale friend who happened to be visiting NYC for a few days from Toronto. (gotta love facebook for facilitating random international encounters!) Low and behold, Luci tapped me on the shoulder as I was buying my week pass for the subway and we got all excited and "huggy" (new word) before all heading down to Chelsea together.

We braved afternoon rain and walked along the High Line before finding a really neat little restaurant for lunch. August by month, and August by restaurant name, as it were... http://augustny.com/. Highly recommended.

After lunch, we caught the subway back up towards midtown and explored a bit, including the giant Macy's, before saying bye to Luci. (Great to see her!)

That night, Prue and I did the 2 hour sunset loop cruise of Manhattan, and got to see the city from all angles. I didn't get to do this in 2006, and was so glad I did it now - gives you a full perspective of the layout of Manhattan and all that the city encompasses - architecturally at least. In a more cultural sense, I'm always moved and inspired by how much of a melting pot New York is for all cultures, religions, political views, attitudes, and so forth. The context of how the city has evolved over the last 400 years is possibly one of the most fascinating examples of human development I have studied, and it's particularly interesting to see the extent to which NYC pioneered so many social and political conventions that we take for granted in our modern society. For more, I suggest EVERYONE watch the PBS 'America: A Documentary Film' series. I own it on DVD but you can only borrow it one at a time: form an orderly queue. 

Back on dry land, Prue and I utilised our City Pass to go to the top of the Empire State Building - preceded by a Kevin Bacon narrated 4D film experience 'Sky Ride'. Suffice to say my response to this was somewhere in the middle of being overwhelmed and underwhelmed... "Can you ever just be 'whelmed'??"

The views from the 86th floor were, of course, magnificent. After our fill of tourist activities, we grabbed massive slices of pizza and crashed around midnight. 

I love you, New York. 

Texas Ya'll

Texas State History Museum

Houston greeted me with humidity. Joy. 

The activities of the few days included:

• A night in Austin, to explore University of Texas, check out the Texas State History museum, and basically get a feel for the city. Very much a culture driven by its student population - very cool. The museum gave me an appreciation for the struggles that individual states underwent in the lead up to the civil war and American revolution. 
• Catching up with all the lovely Hosking and Koss families (who I met through my dear friends the McRae's... "Hey Anna. Liz. Liz. Anna. That's you!! Knock knock. [Who's there?] ...Your pal Dave - and he's always gonna be there for you.")
• Boating from Clear Lake to Galveston Bay after a crazy southern storm, which cleared up to beautiful blue skies in the space of about an hour. Very beautiful.

The end. The NYC excitement was palpable by this point!

Nutty, the UT Campus Squirrel (just for you, Liz)

D-Town (Pt 2)

Tuesday, Lauren had to return to work and so Dave was left to his own devices and given the opportunity to explore downtown Denver on bike. The ride into the city was nice, but after underestimating the heat of the day, I arrived to downtown feeling pretty exhausted and sweating profusely. A Starbucks Lime Refresher (this post proudly brought to you by Starbucks) soon fixed me up, and then after an hour of exploring the city precinct I got incredibly lazy and decided to ride home for an afternoon nap.... (25 going on 50, once again - what of it?).

That night, Lauren took me to dinner to meet more of her friends for dinner and drinks... Patrick, Scott, Jason, Eric - all lovely. Scott was the first Colorado resident to appreciate South Park jokes to the extent I do - went down well. *Insert more laughs, margaritas and tacos here...*

Wednesday, Lauren and I went to a 7:15am hot yoga class. Just what you need to start the day. *Insert more sweat here* This was followed by a flat tyre on Lauren's car... Despite changing Gabi's tyre the night before flying out of Armidale last month (Gab - you have to tell people how manly I was... If you haven't already.), which clearly made me an expert, Lauren thought it best to let the Subaru guys do it. (probably best, yeah)

Lauren worked that afternoon... *Insert another Dave nap here* then when she was done we went for fro-yo (mmm), then I watched her play in her softball final, then it was on to a wine bar for drinks, followed by splitting a buffalo burger for dinner (again...mmm).

Now at Denver airport about to leave for Houston. Bracing myself for the ridiculous humidity, but looking forward to seeing the Hosking clan! Thanks Lulu and co for the hospitality this week in Denver - cant wait to return next time for some skiing... "If you French fry when you pizza you're GONNA HAVE A BAD TIME."

The end... Or is it?

Yeah. It is.

D-Town (Pt 1)

Flew into Denver airport just after 7pm on Saturday, and was greeted by an awesome sunset, and Lauren Almon's excited waving and smiling as she pulled up to pick me up. (for those unaware, Lauren worked closely with my team at UNE for 6 months while she was based out of Sydney - and this was the basis of forming an incredible friendship).

Once we were on the road, we were headed straight to a house party in the south of Denver which was pretty darn awesome. Got to meet Lauren's much talked about friend Laura (oh hey Laura), had a bunch of beers, pizza, tequila shots from an ice luge (hilarious) and dancing in a basement with a pretty awesome DJ. Colorado - you're darn fun, I have to say it.

Sunday morning, Lauren took me to the beautiful Almon home to have breakfast with her parents and older sister Natalie. After my fill of pastries, fruit salad, yoghurt and muesli, it was off to Boulder with Lauren and Nat for lunch and browsing of all the shops there.

Nat said goodbye as we left Boulder, and Lauren and I headed to Breckinridge where we were destined to spend a night, and then have a day of activities...

It was 20 minutes into this ride that I fell asleep... Roughly half an hour later, I awoke with a start when Lauren had to brake suddenly:

[Snorts] "What?! Good morning!! Are we in California yet???"
Lauren replied: "Dave since we're both exhausted I made the executive decision to return to Denver for the night." It was at this point that i wiped the post-sleep drool from my chin and looked up to see the Denver skyline looming ahead. Before heading back to her apartment, Lauren and I shared my first Chipotle experience ("They can't put that much rice in my burrito!!!?!?") while watching the sun set over Wash Park. Beautiful.

Monday morning, refreshed from an awesome night's sleep, Lauren and I set off (again) for Breckinridge for some hiking and alpine sliding. The weather was amazing, and we started the day with a one hour hike right through the heart of the Rockies. I've been spoiled with outstanding natural beauty on this trip!

The alpine slide at Breckinridge was a lot of fun - watch this for an indication - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_7SzIK4g0c. We tried for a second run, but unfortunately a massive thunderstorm loomed after lunch and so they closed the slide and bussed everyone back down the mountain.

Monday night, we caught up with Angela (another great friend and colleague I made through UNE) and her husband Matt. We shared the best mexican meal I've had since being in USA for this trip (seems to get more delicious each time I have it...). After having Lauren and Ange in Armidale so much last year and this year, it's nice to be able to reciprocate the effort and be over in Denver to see where they live.

More Denver photos and stories to come... but these are my thoughts over morning coffee! (Thanks Lauren for the computer use!!)

 

Vancouver

Kate and Phill put me on the Greyhound back to Vancouver on Friday morning (thanks for waking up early...). While the scenery during the 2-odd hour trip was beautiful... It didn't prove as appealing as the inside of my eyelids - and so, I caught some sleep!

Arrived into Vancouver before lunch to incredible blue skies and not a cloud to be seen. After a quick hotel check in I ventured on foot to find some lunch and then get a bit of retail therapy. Hollister in the downtown mall proved a good source for some new shorts and tees, and also of that nonchalant retail attitude mixed with loud top 40 music and ridiculously dim lighting to lull you into a sense of retreat from the usual glare of metro shopping malls. I shouldn't criticize it, because i'm a fan of their clothes... But still, I like to be aware of their ploys to extract money from people's bank accounts...
"Ooh, Hollister-branded Jake cologne... Now I too can smell like a sexy Californian 20-something." (it's okay, I resisted this purchase and stuck to my shorts and tees...)

In the afternoon I walked over to Stanley Park (largest metropolitan park in the world... Kate advised me on my arrival on Monday). The views were nice, and I resolved that Vancouver feels like a nice mix of Sydney and Perth. And that's all I have to say about that. (what? If you want to know more just look it up on Wikipedia)

My Friday night in the city coincided with the start of Vancouver's annual pride weekend. The atmosphere was fun and festive, but after some dinner and a quick walk along Davie Street, I tired of all the pink, lilac and sequins and made my way home at the ungodly hour of 9pm (still daylight here). "25 going on 50" as my mum would say - and darn proud of it.

Now it's Saturday, and I am sitting at Vancouver International Airport waiting for my flight to Denver... Which leaves in... 3 hours... (Now you get the "Ah-ha" moment as to why I spent a whole paragraph talking about Hollister).

I'm thirsty... I wonder if there's a Starbucks here...

Whistler!

Flew into Vancouver on Monday afternoon, and was greeted by Kate, Phill and their friend Annika. I ran up, dragging my suitcase, and gave Kate a massive hug (then Phill got one too because I was so amped). (for those of you playing at home... Kate and I went through school together, K-12, and it's been almost three years since I've seen her).

Kate pointed out a few key attractions of Vancouver city as we drove through it, and soon enough we were on our way up to their place at Whistler. My first lesson in the region was how to use the bins... which along with being bear-proof also happened to be Dave-proof (until Phill showed me what I was doing).

I caught them up on all the significant developments back home: RTA becoming the Roads and Maritime; and our political system reaching a state of unparalleled stability in Australia's history. Oh wait that last one isn't accurate. Still... Roads and Maritime?? What is with that.

Entertaining the ladies on the trip
to the peak.

All aboard...
Note: Photo idea courtesy of Kate.

On Tuesday, we set out to go up to the peak of Whistler Mountain. I had to share a ski lift with a canoodling couple, but by the time I realized this we were 10 meters above the ground and I couldn't get off. Luckily the couple was just Kate and Phill so the ride was tolerable. Just. The views from the peak were incredible. The mountains and landscape here are unlike anything we have in Australia. Once again, I'll save words and let the photos do the talking... 

Hiking down from the peak of
Whistler Mountain.

On Wednesday, after a nutritious breakfast (Kate is looking after me very well), followed by additional pancakes courtesy of Annika (so full), we set off on a bike riding adventure (commensurate with my skill level - amateur - thanks Kate). We did the bike loop to Creekside, which featured many awesome photo ops (this whole place is full of those, seriously). I just handed my camera to Kate and let her go snap happy - she's good at capturing funny moments.

Kate and I rode into town at lunchtime and had sushi in the Olympic park, where they were screening the London Games on massive screens. Then it was on to the nearby farmers market to pick up some fresh berries and bread. (Which Kate insisted on storing in my back pack so the bears would come to me first when they smelled the sweet, sweet berries)

On the way home I had a near-accident going down a steep gravel hill. Most who know me well will be aware of my lack of much coordination... so thankfully I managed to pull myself out of this little incident without any scratches or bruises. Win. Kate was laughing hysterically, and the O'Connor crew will appreciate that it was probably similar in hilarity to the famed "skateboard incident" in the backyard of 274 a few years back. Shame we didn't film it. I've missed my second chance to be a YouTube hit.

On Wednesday night, we went for a walk to a nearby lake, and I spotted my third bear of the trip (only this time fairly close up!). He was meandering along a deserted golf course, and was probably about 20 metres away. I tried to lure it closer with my signature 'dying giraffe sound', before Phill pointed out that seeing as bears and giraffes are native to two separate hemispheres, it would have no impact. Sigh. There goes my dream of having my own 'Man vs Wild' show.

Thursday is my designated "do nothing" day... and then Friday I am off to Vancouver for 24 hours of city sightseeing. Thank Kate, Phill, and co for the hospitality! You're awesome! 

Enjoying a Beavertail at Olympic Park.

Cycling around the lake.