USA 29 May 2014

We took a day trip on the Balearia Bahama Express ferry from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport on Grand Bahama island, where we spent the day wandering the Port Lucaya Marketplace, having lunch and checking out the beach...

The marketplace was extremely touristy but with its own charm. The people talk very much like Jamaicans and the Rastafarian culture is seen and heard everywhere. They have a very interesting use of colour in their buildings, reminds me of the colours that were the fashion after Miami Vice became popular on TV in the mid 1980s...

Even the Police Station got the makeover with the same cans of paint. Check out the pink sign out front. Can you imagine the police in New Zealand having pink signage?

The main reason we went to The Bahamas was to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary, but as were in the small town of Brooksville, Florida on the 25th we decided to delay it a few days. We found a restaurant called Big Easy which had a Creole atmosphere and style of food. Of course we had a few cocktails with our lunch.

The place doesn't look much but the food was excellent...

USA 28 May 2014

We didn’t do anything very exciting today, we just drove from Key West to Fort Lauderdale where we have booked to take a one-day cruise to the Bahamas, leaving early tomorrow morning and returning at around 10pm.

The weather has been great here, with temperatures ranging from the mid 20s early in the morning to the mid 30s by mid afternoon. I am sure New Zealand temperatures are similarly balmy (Yeah, Right).

We noticed quite a number of these Manatee letterboxes as we drove today. In New Zealand they would look very tacky, but here in Florida they don’t look out of place at all.

We knew that Florida was subject to a lot of severe hurricanes each year (we heard on the radio yesterday that official Hurricane season starts this Sunday) but we were surprised to see thousands of palm trees lining the roads with braces on to hold them up.

I can now see why the palm tree is such a symbol of the Florida lifestyle. There are so many bars here that I am sure a lot of the residents have trouble standing upright at times too.

USA 27 May 2014

This morning we thought that we would venture out to the Florida Everglades to look up some more gators. We took a tour on an airboat at Gatorland and we did see a few of them.

The Everglades are much more open, like flooded grassland with some areas of trees, unlike the swamps of Louisiana, which are basically flooded forests.

The airboats are very noisy and can go extremely fast. Hold on to your hats!!!

We did manage to get a hands-on meeting with one young gator...

He seemed very relaxed but we were still pleased that they had taped his jaws shut. He did have a hungry look in his eye.

Soon after leaving Gatorland we came across this car fire on the side of the road. It had only just started and we passed the fire engine minutes later. The driver of the car just had to stand back and watch it burn.

We stopped for lunch at the Islamorada Fish Company on our way across the 42 bridges and 113-mile chain of islands to get to Key West. Their fish of the day was dolphin. The waitress explained that it was not the FLIPPER kind of dolphin, but we declined and settled instead for alligator, conch fritters, clam chowder and crab cakes.

We see it on a number of menus here in Key West so it must be common. But, to us, eating dolphin just doesn't seem right.

We did like their artistic version of white lines in their carpark:

USA 26 May 2014

It is Memorial Day today (Monday) and we were warned that traffic would be slow today, but we weren't expecting it to be this slow...

We came across this little fella crossing the road in Manatee County on our drive from Brooksville to Miami. Actually crossing the road is a bit of an overstatement, he'd gotten about 6 inches in and decided to take a break. We just stopped to take his photo, but then a more considerate motorist stopped and actually nudged him across the road. He could move quite fast when someone was whacking him with a sandal.

We were told that today was a special day when most people would overeat and drink (like Kiwis on almost any weekend), so we weren't surprised to find this group of buzzards dining out on a small deer by the side of the road. Yes you could see them circling in the air, just like in all those old westerns.

We passed through a few miles of panther habitat around the Big Cypress National Preserve. They range free in a large area with the main road running through it. Unfortunately around 10 are killed each year by being hit by cars. There is no warnings about them being a danger to us, just that we are a danger to them.

Even so, I wouldn't want to meet up with one...

And in case anyone is reading this to any of my grandkids please reassure them that Poppa wasn't really standing by a panther, I added the panther in later. But I am sure they guessed that already.

You don't have to go far to see alligators in the wild. We came across this guy, and about a dozen of his friends, in a little creek about two metres from the road.

We drove through the tail end of a short storm and saw horizontal forked lightning for the first time. Very dramatic. A google search tells me that this is caused by lightning going from one cloud to another, rather than the usual cloud-to-ground. We thought that it was amazing. It was disappointing to find out that it is quite common. Sigh.

No photo, sorry. It was raining and we were too chicken to get out of the car.

USA 25 May 2014

Temperatures here have averaged around 26 degrees celsius at 7am and around 33 degrees by lunchtime and with the extreme humidity they have in Florida making it seem even hotter, so it is not surprising that these cattle have to share their drinking trough with the neighbourhood birds...

The southerners really like to commemorate the Civil War, and we found this mural on the side of a shop wall in Brooksville. It commemorates The 1864 Brooksville Raid by Federal troops on Confederate stockpiles. The mural was painted by Tony Caparello in 2002 and was his largest work (a staggering 18 feet high by 87 feet long). I am a big fan of historic murals and this is one of the most striking I have ever seen. And no graffitti anywhere. Kiwi taggers wouldn't have been able to resist it.

And here's a couple of close-ups to give you an idea of the detail (click on any image to enlarge):

Why is it that even abandoned buildings in the US are more artistic than those in New Zealand...

It is Memorial Day weekend here in the USA, so a lot of people are going to church today and they have plenty of churches to chose from as there are churches everywhere. Some quite large and ornate, but most are quite small and modest in appearance. Some, on the other hand, are neither...

USA 24 May 2014

We have noticed an interesting sense of irony in the WELCOME TO signs we have seen today.

Next to this sign (as with all photos on this blog, click them to enlarge):

you will see this building:

And just behind this sign...

is this building:

USA 23 May 2014 Part 2

A lot of houses along the banks of The Mississippi River have a very distinctive style. I guess you don't have to worry about burglars climbing in your windows...

When you think think of the State of Mississippi you don't think of beaches, but Long Beach is, as the name implies, a very, very long beach of startlingly white sands. The main road runs right next to the beach for many miles. Great for paddling in but you would have to walk a hell of a long way to get much deeper than your knees.

USA 23 May 2014

We noticed that the New Orleans police are quite strict with the enforcement of some laws, but their punishment for parking in a no-parking area seems a little severe in this case...

We went on a boat tour through the swamps of Honey Island, near New Orleans. The swamps were pretty much as we imagined they would be...

But some of the inhabitants were a little scary closeup...

A lot of debris from Katrina, including entire homes, ended up in the river near Honey Island...

But it is sometimes hard to tell which buildings actually washed up here and which ones just look like they did...

USA 21 May 2014

We drove from Houston, Texas, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the on to Lafayette where we are spending the night. We enjoyed a meal of fried allligator, grilled catfish and mushrooms stuffed with crab. Great Cajun cuisine.

We saw the first armadillo we have ever seen in the wild. It's a shame it was in such sad circumstances...

We stopped for a snack in the small Texas town of Saratoga. Most of the buildings on the main street look like this...

But fortunately the general store/pizza shop was still standing and the pizza was very good...

The residents of Louisiana have a laid-back attitude to life, as evident in the sign that greets you entering and leaving Starks. Their choice of font for the sign looks like it was done in the 1960s, but it is fairly recent.

Louisiana is very, very wet and green. There are swamps and rice paddies everywhere...

Tomorrow we are going to try and see some alligators in their natural habitat. We hope they don't hold grudges over us eating their relatives for dinner tonight.

A couple of days in San Diego

Maybe Green is the new Blonde?

Here's a trend I knew would happen eventually, particularly in a country obsessed with dogs, a range of pet clothes: 

Cop's motorcycles are a lot smaller here in San Diego: 

San Diego has some of the most creatively designed pedal-cabs: 

Here's what Vyv could look like without her morning coffee (what is it with the popularity of zombies and vampires these days?): 

Vyv took a bus tour to Tijuana yesterday and really went native: 

Truth in advertising, Mexican-style: 

Street corner protests can be annoying on crowded pavements, but these two kids making fun of the protesters was funny. Assuming you know who Zod is, of course. 

We did meet another Kiwi while in San Diego: 

Vyv makes a new friend: 

These guys have the perfect job, they can lounge around in PJs all day long: 

I love this work of art in downtown Dan Diego - it's hard to imagine this in the Square in Palmerston North: 

Downtown San Diego at night is quite an impressive sight: 

We went to Seaport Village yesterday and checked out all those yachts that we will never be able to afford.  While there is an obvious recession here in the States, some people still manage to live a decent lifestyle.

Finally, a photo from the WHAT WERE THEY THINKING department: 

USA Road Trip day 19

Karl joined us for a day in Hollywood. We all meet famous people. 

Karl met Kermit... 

Vyv met Marilyn Monroe... 

And I met Dean Martin... 

USA Road Trip Day 18

We decided to head out to the Mojavi Desert to look around. It's a huge place, goes on for hundreds and hundreds of miles. We took what we thought would be a little detour off the main road (calling it a main road is pretty generous as the road seal looked like it hadn't been repaired since the 50s) and ended up on this dirt road for about 60 miles. It was an experience to say the least, and we didn't really know where it would take us.

We came across forests of these very unusual trees... Joshua Trees. We checked carefully, but it didn't appear that any actual Joshuas were growing on them. 

We came across this cute motel in Rialto, California (next to San Bernadino) on Route 66. It was built in the 40s, but renovated some time ago and is quite comfortable. We couldn't resist staying there. 

Then, as usual, we went to a Denny's for dinner. This one, though, was a little different, because, like the motel, it was on Route 66: 

Behind our motel unit is this line of crapped out cars. I'm assuming that, sometime in the past, their owners failed to pay the motel bill. 

Wait a minute! I just enlarged one of the photos of a Joshua Tree and I did find one Joshua growing on it... 

USA Road Trip Day 17

These are The Elephant Feet. A rock formation just out of Kayenta, Arizona, which is a Navajo reservation – which meant no beer with dinner for me, as selling alcohol is illegal on an Indian reservation, but I must say the Navajo Fry Bread Tacos were fantastic and made up for the lack of a beer.

Tuba City, Arizona – This is a sight you don't see every day.  These two horses were just wandering down the middle of the road, without a care in the world, ignoring all traffic. Then they made a left turn down another street. Without using any indication signals at all.

We made the usual tourist pilgrimage to the Grand Canyon. A storm was following us all day but were were managing to stay ahead of it for quite a while, long enough to take a few photos: 

Then the storm rolled in. There was even lightning striking in the clouds coming in from the right, although I couldn't catch it on camera, we were too busy heading back for the car, absolutely drenched. 

USA Road Trip Day 16

We took a short detour into Salida, Colorado looking for food. What we found was a charming community that seems to be centred around the arts. Painters and sculptors have their own studio/shops on the main street (which are mainly old, tired buildings). 

 

As we left Salida, a couple of dear wandered across the road in front of us. Seemed to be browsing the suburbs. You have to keep an eye out for deer everywhere. We have seen a few as roadkill on the side of the road over recent days. 

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An hour or three later we came across a paddock with a number of bison grazing. The old, run-down building next to the paddock had a large sign offering bison meat for sale. 

We have been photographing a lot of old rustic barns as Vyv wants to put together a photographic book of them. Some, even in the worst state of disrepair, are quite beautiful in their own way. 

USA Road Trip Day 15

We visited The Garden Of The Gods near Manitou Springs, a strange and unearthly collection of red rock formations.

The roads were narrow and winding, and the space just driving in the entrance was narrow (see photo below).  

Nearby is the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, which were built by the ancient Anasazi tribe. Quite elaborate and ingeniously crafted. 

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We also found, just a little further round the mountains, Seven Falls after a drive along very narrow, very windy roads.

To save old tourists like us from having to climb up 190-odd steps to view the falls, an elevator was cut into the mountain. Have we got lazy, or what? 

And here's the Seven Falls. Not much to look at now, as they are in the middle of a long dry summer. Supposedly these are the third highest falls in the World.

USA Road Trip - Day 14

We visited Fort Riley in Kansas. It is a working army base and is vast, bigger than a large town. Parts of it are like driving in the country with its own forests, fields etc. Armed guards check you out as you go in. We visited the US Cavalry museum and were amazed at the quality of the exhibits. Well up to the standards of something like the Smithsonian. It was fascinating. This is the building (I was waiting for the military police to stop me taking photos on the base, but they obviously didn't think I was much of a threat). 

They had a few old tanks on display too (the modern cavalry). This is my second favourite (after the Sherman). It's the first time I have seen one up close and I can't believe how small it is. And no air conditioning... 

Next we visited historic Old Dodge City (or what little remains). This is a recreation of Front Street which features a lot of memorabilia from the period including clothes, furniture, guns etc plus the original jail, parts of Boot Hill (most of the graves were moved in the mid 1900s but there are a handful that are still there). The museum was quite interesting. 

They have can can dancers, gunfights etc in the evenings and the bar looks really authentic – straight out of a western movie, but 10am was a little early for us to start drinking. 

Look at the shape women were expected to conform to in that era. 

We have seen hundreds of thousands of bales of hay in recent days but none as strange as these we saw in Colorado. They are huge and remind us of loaves of bread. 

We passed the site of this truck crash in the strangely named town of Swink, Colorado. How the heck he turned his rig on its side in a 30mph zone I'll never know. 

USA Road Trip - Bridges of Madison County

When we passed through Madison County, Iowa, we decided to check out the famous covered bridges on some of the farm roads. We stopped to look at three of them but were a little freaked out that at all three we were surrounded by the the sounds of gunshots. We assume hunters were out in force. We just hoped that July wasn't Kiwi season.

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We assume that you have heard about the plane crash at San Francisco. Tragic. We saw this aeroplane that also landed a bit short. It only made it to the roof of this hot dog joint in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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Squirrels are considered pests here, but we think they are cute.  This one we saw at The Czech Village in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He certainly wasn't afraid of us.

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USA Road Trip - Day 13

With my love of old western movies I couldn't miss dropping into Abilene on our way to Dodge City (where we are staying tonight). Here's a photo of Old Abilene. Really just a shabby recreation of an old town, but kinda cute in its own way. 

You hear a lot about gun violence in the States. It seems to be so common they have set aside special times for it (see below): 

USA Road Trip – from the ONLY-IN-AMERICA department

This is claimed to be the largest log chair in the world. I'm guessing the ONLY log chair in the world. Why would anyone else build one. 

We saw this on the way to Deadwood a few days ago. Some people like to feed the animals in the forest and I guess these people thought that the wildlife would appreciate their food chilled.

 

Another gem from the road to Deadwood. Vyv dares you to say which one is best-dressed. 

We saw this in Lake Superior. We aren't sure what it is. Perhaps the world's first concrete submarine? 

We visited Cedar Falls. The photo below is the actual falls. We were expecting something a little more DRAMATIC. Still, quite an unusual place in the middle of a city. 

I love their definition of ANTIQUES: