Happy Birthday America …

Another American holiday: Independence Day! Or 4th July as it seems to be referred to by everybody.

I was lucky enough to use some holiday/vacation time and went to Washington, DC to watch the celebrations. With Washington being the Capital of the US, I figured it would be as good a place as any to go.

Although the flights were cheap enough at about $240 return, I thought it would be a good idea to make a mini road trip of the 1200 miles or so round journey. With the price of petrol as it is over here it probably cost half the price of the flights (if that) to get us there and back. If, however, I factor in the cost of the speeding ticket I picked up in Ohio then it would have been cheaper to fly…

The drive was easy enough the whole way there, the hardest part was trying to keep yourself interested when you’re on the same road for 300 or so miles with barely so much as a bend to make you think. Well, that was the case through Indiana and Ohio. As we passed through West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania there were amazing changes in the landscape. Ohio and Indiana, much like the whole of Norfolk back in the UK, is pretty much flat. Through the proceeding States, the landscape reminded more of scenery that I had seen in Thailand. The weather too was very jungle like; lots of mist and very humid as we drove to higher and higher altitudes.

The whole weekend was great with so many things to see and do. I think I ticked off most of the touristy things; The White House, Capitol Hill, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial etc. I was really disappointed to see the famous Reflecting Pool, where Forrest Gump wades through to get to “Jennay”, was just a load of mud and wooden posts as it’s currently being renovated. Also went to the Holocaust museum, which sounds a strange place to go but it was fascinating and I’d recommend anybody to visit.

Click the photo above and it should take you to my Flickr account where you’ll see all the photographs that I uploaded from the trip, including the awesome fireworks show that lasted over 15 minutes. I still think my Dad’s mini pyrotechnics display every 5th November would give them a run for their money … (Americans: Gunpowder Plot 1605 – Google it!!)

Perhaps not a famous landmark in the same sense of the other places I visited, but a trip was made to Ben’s Chili Bowl. This place is famous for it’s chili and all the other food you’d associate with it. Bill Crosby and Barack Obama are some of the famous faces that have eaten there, and their pictures grace the walls inside. It was also featured on the TV show Man Vs Food, which tells you all you need to know about it really. Just to get in there to order there was a huge queue that stretched around the side of the building … something my lower back didn’t need after walking around in flip flops all day in the heat ... Stuart clearly caught the moment, but I WASN’T crying!!

The drive back was so uneventful it doesn’t warrant a comment, other than a pat on the back for successfully avoiding another speeding ticket in Ohio (thank you Mr Cruise Control)!!

The whole weekend was good fun and was great to see the celebrations everywhere, although why anybody would celebrate their independence from Great Britain is beyond me … to paraphrase an Al Murray line: “don’t call it Great f*cking America do they?!” I joke, of course.

22 Days Later …

I’m still alive and well, just haven’t got around to posting on here for a while. It’s been a great couple of weeks with some really good weather, and some not so good. I took the photo below one morning at work; the clouds had an amazing shape and form to them, with some wicked cracks of lightning occurring in the far right of the clouded area.

Other than that storm, the majority of the time has seen the sun beating down during the day and providing long, warm evenings. It’s been great having the opportunity to go the pool after a day at work and just chill out.

A couple of weekends ago I went to my first baseball game, but in keeping with the trend of my previous sporting posts I will write that in a separate entry VERY soon. It was good fun though, and I’ll probably be catching another game as we head up to Chicago next month.

This week I’ve also finalised plans for the 4th July weekend; going to be off to Washington DC! I imagine it to be different to anywhere I’ve visited before, but interested to see what it has to offer and even more so at the prospect of a big firework display. I looked at flights and although a reasonable $280 return price was found flying out from Indy, I’m going to be driving. Just me, the Impala, a dodgy radio station, and 1194 miles of painfully slow American driving. Err perhaps I’ll take that flight after all …

This weekend has been very good. Found out that I’m a natural at Flip Cup (link), although maybe just part of a good team. Also had my first authentic s’more that night too; heated marshmallow and melted chocolate sandwiched between biscuits/crackers. You don’t find many of your 5 a day over here. Whilst we’re on food, I went to the restaurant with a name that’s too good to be true; the Cheesecake Factory. WOW. I think God created this place once he had finished creating light and the universe etc etc(probably as a crafty cash in hand job on the side). I had a huge pasta dish as an entree followed by a slice the majority of Red Velvet cheesecake … it was amazing. Well, what I could eat of it was.

After about 3 or 4 bites of it I thought I was literally going to burst, so had to stop. My dining mates (knowing my penchant for desserts) were convinced that I’d been replaced by a body double. I thought it may have been down to the amount of Raccoon piss that I’d *probably* ingested throughout the day. It wasn’t intentional, but I did effectively bathe in a creek …

Why? A group of friends from work and I took part in a Mudathlon (link); over 3 miles of off-road course with obstacles to tackle. It was centred around having fun than serious competition, which is good as my legs were shot after the halfway point when we had to tackle a 50 or 100 yard long (I can’t remember – and I don’t want the “it was THIS big syndrome”) mud pit. I don’t have any of my own photo’s of this, but I know some were taken of me as I went through it so I will try and link to some when I have them. Anyway, at the end of it I was covered in so much mud I probably weighed an extra 20lbs or so, all while dressed in sleeveless shirt, denim bibbed overalls and a bandanna. Yep, to certain women taking part I probably looked hotter than a fur coat in August, but it wasn’t comfy. All was well in the end however, as once changed we picked up our free* beer and hotdog. I was very glad to get home and shower, not so glad at having to spend 20 mins with hot water and bunch of cotton buds to clean my ears of mud, though. I’ll post an after race photo as soon as I find one!

*free as in included within the $70 entrance fee…

Easy Cheese?!

Because a normal block of cheese is so f***ing difficult …

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!!

Today was the first day back to work after the first public Holiday of the year; Memorial Day. It wasn’t so easy going back in after the three day weekend, especially considering the weather that we had. Ignoring some torrential rain on the Saturday night, the rest of the weekend was as far removed from anything I’ve experienced out here so far. 30+°c everyday and I have the Rudolph-esque nose to show for it. For once, just once, I was pining for the rain, damp and wind that the UK can be sure to offer. The fact that my neighbourhood pool opened did help to raise my spirits though, so don’t worry about me too much.

This weekend was also the Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It has some significance as the 100th anniversary of the first race was being celebrated. Oddly, it wasn’t the 100th race (World Wars ensured a couple of breaks) but there were celebrations at the track none-the-less.

After having some tasty breakfast provided (thanks Amy), we headed to the track around 07:30 and, even after surviving a $1-shuttle-ride-in-the-back-of-a-pick-up-truck-driven-by-a-redneck-looking-guy, we were claiming our spot in the infield around 09:00. The track/arena was absolutely huge; seating for over 257,000 spectators with a total capacity of around 400,000 including the infield areas. We managed to find a spot on Turn 3 in the infield (with a track view) and made camp with our large tarpaulin and single blanket. This turned out to be great later as when everyone else was jammed in like sardines we still had plenty of room to ourselves. And it got PACKED.

Before the race even started there was plenty of entertainment going on around the track. There was a giant Hot Wheels ramp that had been erected for a world record attempt jump, and with my basic camera I managed to get a snap just before it landed and set a new world record. The car that is; not my camera.

We played some games that probably meant I drank too much beer in a short space of time in the heat, but in all the morning seemed to fly by before you knew it the actual race was about to begin. As with all American sporting activities, it was very patriotic. There was a rendition of “America the Beautiful”, which was followed by plenty of fist pumping and chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A” … I should have joined in “Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land” but I guess our reserved nature overrides. Next up we had the national anthem performed by a trio of Seal, Kelly Clarkson, and someone else (couldn’t hear over the school disco style PA system). This was COOL, as towards the finale of the song there was a flyover by a (not so stealthy) B-2 bomber … that is a good looking aeroplane. Sure enough this ensured more chanting from the locals. I recorded the video below on my phone, that’s why it’s crap.

I can’t really tell you too much about the race as there wasn’t too much to see. The noise (my favourite part of motorsport) was amazing and is up there with my encounters with F1 cars at the Goodwood FoS. The heat also made it pretty unbearable to be too still for too long. I can tell you though that a Brit won (nice one, mate) although in slightly controversial circumstances. Not Dick Dastardly style controversy, just some issue of rule interpretation. I heard all this from the radio, as we decided to leave and beat all traffic/3rd degree sun burn by leaving with about 40 laps to go. As we started to pack up all our coolers and bags, a group of guys who had been sitting near us for the duration of the day offered to buy any leftover beers we had; the girls in the group did a great job of getting $20 for a few leftover ones. As we made our way out of the infield we sold some more; this time $20 was exchanged for a couple less beers but included a partially eaten box of Krispy Kreme donuts. I know what I would be doing next year if I had a spare cooler …

All in all it was a great day with some new and (relatively) old friends. After a quick shower and an after sun session it was rounded off with a meal sitting on the outside decking of a Mexican restaurant in what was still incredibly warm temperatures. We also played some word games but I think was only so others could have a giggle at my pronunciation/accent …

I’m now off to rub some more after sun into my skin. Bye bye.

p.s. below here are some more photo’s that show the crowds and some of the, err, characters seen on the day. I can’t wait for the Indiana State Fair; I’m told it’s good …

Has It Been That Long?!

It’s almost a month since I last updated this blog!!

Quite a bit has happened in that time; obviously there was the Royal Wedding, I made a trip home to see friends and family, and the world was going to end (but it didn’t).

Unlike everyone back home in the UK, I didn’t get the bonus of a day off for the wedding. The fuss over it, here, was incredible; especially to me as I wasn't bothered with it all. We did however have a bit of a Royal theme in the office and so I bought some crowns from a party shop. I hung a huge Union Jack on the wall (some conditioning for the Americans for when I hang it on Independence Day …), and I had plenty of visitors throughout the day asking me questions about William & Kate; although I didn’t have any of the answers. I didn’t wake up at 4am to catch the coverage of the wedding, although plenty of others did. When I woke up, I looked back through my Facebook timeline and realised the attention had quickly turned to Kate’s sister Pippa and her arse. It’s pretty much the same here in the States too! My manager here in the US wanted us to have a departmental photo taken as a memento of the day (in other words, something that can be used as blackmail!) so, for your amusement on a Sunday night/Monday morning, below is a cropped version of the photo (saving the others in it from the shame!) …

A week later I made a trip back home to a very sunny England! Was great to see everyone, but it was a very manic trip home trying to squeeze so much into a week and a half. Managed to catch up with everybody, ate all the foods I’ve missed (mum’s Sunday lunch, fish & chips, proper bacon sandwiches!), and got to only my 2nd Arsenal game of the season (terrible game, result, atmosphere, and travel; but as always a great day out with dad). Before I knew it, it was time to head back to Heathrow to board my flight to Chicago. This turned out to be one of the worst flights I’ve ever been on; sandwiched between a guy who virtually had his name on my arm rest, and a woman who was, err, of the larger variety.

The first five days of my time back in the States have been pretty dismal weather; until this weekend. It’s 11pm here and still 24 deg C, today has been so humid. The temperature in the apartment also hasn’t been helped by the fact that I didn’t realise the a/c had been set to heat! A quick slide of the lever and I’m now sitting in conditions that would make a polar bear feel at home.

This week should be a good one. It’s the build up to the Indy 500 and next weekend I’m off to the race with a group of friends!