January 2014

Upon departing New Orleans on an 11 hour journey across the states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, I arrived into Orlando at around 10am. Based on Brendan's advice who came from Orlando to New Orleans, he recommended the Days Inn which was close to Universal Studios, walking distance in fact. Definitely a great idea, I had a hotel room to myself for two nights with at only about $60 a night! I grabbed a taxi from the Greyhound terminal and made it to the hotel. Resting, I decided I had better go for a wander to Universal as I had planned to do it all the following day. This was a wise a choice as a two day pass wasn't too much more expensive and there are two theme parks right next to each other! I got to work and spent the afternoon and evening doing all sorts of rides around the park. The Harry Potter section was ridiculously amazing, as were most of the rides and attractions. As it had been raining most of the morning, it was rather quiet so I was able to get a lot of the rides in. The Jurassic Park ride involved a lot of water and I am glad I bought a rather expensive poncho so I could stay dry for the rest of the day, other people were soaked!

After a long day of hopping on and off rides, I grabbed some dinner and a movie around the Universal Studios are the parks closed, and trotted back to the hotel for a long rest. Planning on waking up early, I slept in a little and took off to the studios, and went straight too the other park I didn't visit the day before. 

After a long day, another dinner and another movie - and thoroughly pleased with the amusement parks, I stopped by TGI Friday's for a late drink and snack, and returned back to the Days Inn for a few hours sleep before a shuttle onwards to Miami Beach.

January 2014

After an 8 hour bus ride across the Gulf of Mexico from Houston, the Greyhound rocketed along towards New Orleans. I jumped off at the terminal and proceeded to walk towards the hostel where I would be staying for the next few days. A little bit of culture shock kicked in and I felt a little comfortable for the first time in a US city. I walked on and found the hostel, an older style building with a 16-bed dorm in a building out the back. As I walked there from the main building, I noticed all of the classic coloured beads that New Orleans is known for. I dropped my bags and began thinking about my plans and things to see, and also felt quite overwhelmed with the city. After about 30 minutes, another Australian checked in from Brisbane, Brendan. We got chatting and turned out we had the same plans for things to see, and were staying around the same amount of time.

We hopped on a trolley and headed down town to Bourbon Street. New Orleans is an amazing city, an incredible amount of culture including a strong French (Cajun) influence and an surreal old feeling to it. We jumped off at Bourbon St and decided to check out the old cemeteries near by. With Voodoo markings on many of the tombs, it was an eerie walk filled with rich history.

Walking back towards the Louie Armstrong Park, we wandered around and took photos of the statue and headed onwards back to Bourbon Street for an early dinner. Recommended by my cousins in Texas, we headed to one of the many Oyster Bars. Brendan got talking to the oyster shucker who knew the city inside out, and being very good at his job, he regularly is sent to Washington to work in Whitehouse! It was clear, he was nearly twice as fast as the others, and very efficient.  We ordered a Poboy, some gumbo and some oysters. I wish I could remember the gentleman's name but he provided us some great advice to head on down to Frenchman Street to catch some live music which is at the other end of the Frenchman Quarter and away from the touristy area of Bourbon Street.

Catching a cab, we jumped off and wandered from bar to bar, looking in and finally settling on a bar with chap and his band playing, Washboard Chad. Quite well known it turns out, his main instrument was a washboard and various rings on his hands. After some great music there, we wandered on down to The Spotted Cat and caught another Jazz band. On the way back we can across street performers playing with people dancing in the streets. In summer, I feel that New Orleans would be one crazy fun city. After a 2am finish, we decided best to head back to the hostel and turn in for the night, and wake up early to visit more of the city the following day.

After a sleep-in, we hopped back on the trolley and wandered around the French Quarter and had some lunch, and visited one of the museums that had some superb exhibits on the yearly Mardi Gras and the devastation that was caused by Hurricane Katrina - very eye opening. With time slipping by, it was getting close to dinner and then of course another visit to Frenchman Street to see some more Jazz. Originally with two nights booked, I decided to book another and check out early and head off the following night (11pm) to Florida.

With only a few things to do, we spent Monday at the National World War 2 museum. Very good. It was an insight into the American perspective of World War 2.

Wanting to grab some more oysters and with Brendan wanting to catch up with some friends, I headed back to Bourbon Street and then back to the hostel. We said good bye and I headed off to the Greyhound for my next leg of journey, Orlando to see Universal Studios. 

January 2014

Austin

Leaving Houston, I headed west on MegaBus (quite a cheap method of travel in Texas, only $18) towards Austin. I arrived near the Capitol and walked down towards the Firehouse Hostel (highly recommended, great staff and location), weaving past the Capitol itself and it's gardens, stunned by such a beautiful building.

Making it to the hostel around 12am, a longer walk than I suspected, they had space and soon I was checked in and had a drink in the bar downstairs (hidden by a sliding bookcase) before heading out for a quick stroll along Sixth Street, the famous street of Austin. After a relatively early night, I awoke the next morning and decided to walk a circuit of the city by foot including a stroll over Congress Avenue Bridge towards the South Congress District for pizza and then a loop over the Barton Springs and back along the west side of Sixth Street.

Tired and burnt out after a long day walking, I crashed for a while before deciding to explore Sixth Street more and checking out a few famous bars, listening to music as I went from bar to bar. After quite a late night, I slept in a little before deciding to walk to the Capitol and onwards to the The Bullock Texas State History Museum.

Over the next few days, I visited East Sixth Street and spent more time listening to music in South Congress and downtown, and really just enjoyed wandering around the city itself checking out the sights and enjoying the food.

San Antonio

Though soon it was time to move on and head south to San Antonio, my last Texan city before heading west. I boarded a bus from Austin (again MegaBus, only $6!). Jumping off downtown, I had a hostel in mind, though changed my mind last minute to a hotel close to The Alamo. Texting Tracey's friend Robin, I was soon picked up and showed around town for the night and enjoyed some more Tex Mex before heading back to the hostel. Restless, I went for a walk around The Alamo at night and down along the San Antonio Riverwalk taking in this really beautiful part of town. Getting late, I trotted back to the hotel and stretched out in a well earned queen size bed for the night. The next day I slept in a little, and headed to the visit The Alamo for the afternoon. Originally thinking I'd be spending an hour or two, I spent nearly 4 hours there taking it all in including a walking tour - what an incredible place.

Again catching up with Robin late in the evening, we headed off to Midnight Rodeo to learn Texas Two Step! A very unique Texan dancing experience. Arriving late, I caught some sleep before a very early Greyhound towards New Orleans.

December 2013/January 2014 (Yes, still one year behind on my blog)

Departing Waxahachie shortly after Christmas, we headed south on the I-45 towards Conroe, just north of Houston for New Year's. Along the way, I noticed many fireworks stores. Something that is not available in Queensland for sale to consumers, I couldn't help but buy a bunch when stopping for New Year's supplies. Arriving at the Lakehouse, I met my cousins Tracey and Derek for the first time, and went for a stroll down to the pier that is a part of their property. Later that evening, my other cousin Ronnie arrived and soon we were out shopping for more fireworks at a fireworks warehouse closeby. I perhaps spent a bit.

After an early night, we headed for a drive around Conroe on New Year's Eve, and the other towns near by, picking up supplies and having some lunch, we returned in preparation for New Year's. After an amazing sunset, we settled down by the fire and prepared to let off a few fireworks (safely!).

After New Year's, I said good bye Ruth and Walt, and headed off with Tracey, Ronnie and Derek to Houston. Back onto the I-45, we headed south and arrived in Deer Park. The next bunch of days was spent visiting NASA, Galveston, Kemah, a firing range, and visiting my Great Aunt Betty whom I hadn't met since I was a little boy.

With my flight out of Miami in about 3 weeks time, to allow myself plenty of time to explore the south, I decided I had to double back a little to Austin and San Antonio. Saying goodbye, Ronnie dropped me off to downtown Houston and I was off on my way to Austin with a hostel in mind, the Firehouse Hostel. Back on the road.

December 2013 (Yes, I am one year behind on this blog! I am actually writing this blog from Houston in Texas, almost one year later)

I grabbed my bags early in the morning, two days before Christmas and strolled down Granville Street in the early morning rain to catch the Skytrain to the airport. After landing in Dallas-Fort Worth after a brief stopover in Portland, I was greeted by my cousin Ruth whom I hadn't met in many long years, and I was probably about 10 at the time, if not much younger. I soon met Walt, and my other cousin, Peyton, and we were off to Steven and Mindy's place just outside of Dallas for dinner. Plans for my stay were detailed out to me, which included seeing Robert Earl Keen and a Dallas Cowboys game (a game they needed to win to advance to the play-offs). Soon I crashed at Ruth and Walt's place as you do after a day of travelling, and woke up late morning to head to downtown Waxahachie, and soon headed over to meet Charles and Mendy, and Emma and Tucker which live very close to Ruth and Walt for Christmas Eve Dinner and to meet even more family. Christmas Eve dinner consisted of many Texan dishes and even Tamales, all different foods I hadn't tried before. The next day, Christmas Day, we went to Steven and Mindy's, and Peyton's, for Christmas lunch which was just amazing.

The next day was spent exploring downtown Dallas, I really beautiful Texan city, with red brick stonework evident in many buildings. One of my favourite games is Red Dead Redemption, and I just could not stop seeing the resemblance when I was there (a quick look on and Wikipedia and I was right, the game was partly inspired by this city). We went to the Sixth Floor Museum and I didn't quite realise its importance until I was inside that it was the location of the Kennedy Assassination. I wandered around inside and then spent some time outside of the building too. After a quick wander to the stadium, Walt and I grabbed a burger, and headed on back home.

The next day Ruth, Walt and I, went to downtown Fort Worth to check out the Stockyards, wander around the shops and get some (amazing) Texas BBQ. Fort Worth is another city like Dallas, a city that appears on the horizon like a monolith in the arid lands of the mid-west of America. A few days later I returned at night to see Robert Earl Keen.

Later on in my stay I went to watch the Dallas Cowboys play the Philadelphia Eagles for a play-off spot, in which they unfortunately lost in the last minute or so of the game. Still, the atmosphere was amazing, and the screen was gigantic!

Soon it was time to head towards Houston, with a few days in Conroe to meet my other cousins Tracey and Ronnie, and to spend New Year's on the lake in Conroe, just north of Houston.

Carrying my bags I left the hostel at around 9pm, and headed back towards Union Station to take The Canadian all the way to Vancouver. Originally, I had planned stops in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Jasper, but really, I was out of time and decided that I would have to head all the way to Van in 3 days. I boarded the train and took the best window seat I could find, trying to consider what I would see out of the train. As we travelled through the night, I ventured around the train and hung out in the viewing room before eventually falling asleep in my chair. Awaking the next morning, I wandered around the train and eventually jumped out at Winnipeg for a quick wander. Originally I would have had the best part of a morning there, though, the train was delayed and I had an hour, even less, to take a quick look. Soon we were off again, stopping along the way over the next few days in Saskatoon, Edmonton and eventually Jasper. During this time, I thought about Christmas and decided to ask my family in Texas if I could visit. With a resounding yes, I soon booked a flight to Dallas-Fort Worth for two days after I reached Vancouver. For the rest of the trip, I interchanged my time in my seat listening to music and also in the viewing room chatting to a variety of travellers and people heading to see their families for Christmas, and spending late evenings in the quiet listening to the rattling train tracks writing some of his blog and contemplating my plans for Vancouver, and how far I had come since I left Brisbane months before.

I bundled out of the train in Vancouver after 3 days of being on the road. I had travelled over 5000 Kilometers in 3 weeks and had made it to where I planned to settle. I walked out of Pacific Central Station and headed to the Skytrain, and wandered down for the first time, a street I would walk (and still do) many, many times - Granville Street. Overwhelmed by the neon signs and the homeless, and a longing for the fun times I had had in the east of Canada, I checked into the Hostelling International hostel on Granville Street. I checked out the Capilano Suspension Bridge to see the Christmas lights, which was a quite spectacular, and some of the bars along Granville Street. Soon it was time to head back across the continent, to Dallas-Fort Worth.

Arriving from Kingston, I hopped off at Union Station in downtown Toronto and crunched my way through the icy snow and headed towards the Hostelling International hostel. I dropped my bags and went for a wander around downtown, checking out the main square and a getting a general feel for the city. Taking it easy, I bought some new headphones and had fun kicking around in the freshly falling snow. Deciding I needed to buy a new camera to replace my existing Canon camera, a Canon G1x, I headed to a camera store and saw a bunch of guys promoting Fuji products. Curious, I looked at a few cameras and ended up buying a fixed lens Fuji x20. I ended up heading out later for own mini pub crawl around downtown.

The next morning I woke early, and with my new Fuji x20, I headed down to Niagara Falls by train. What a great way to break in a new camera. The heavy snowfall from the previous day proved to decorate the falls and the area around Niagara. I walked down the main strip and headed to the falls, and then wandered back to the lookout over the falls. I couldn't resist walking through a haunted house, well, sprint through!

 

I headed back to Toronto, and bumped into a friend I had made in Ottawa, Mitch, from Winnipeg. We decided to hang out the next day and wander around Toronto, including Chinatown, checked out some graffiti art and the CN Tower for a lookout over Toronto. A day or two later, I caught up with Andrew, whom I previously met in New York and Halifax, before another wander around Toronto before my 3 day, 10pm train out of Toronto to Vancouver.

 

I disembarked from the train in Ottawa after a short train ride from Montreal. I gathered my bags and began the wander downtown to the hostel I was to be staying at for the next night, the Hostelling International, which was formally a jail! Quite an interesting experience. After walking the wrong direction, I found the hostel on a very chilly night, probably a mild -10 or so, as i crunched through the now frozen snow. Dropping my bags for my (initial) two nights, I asked the hostel staff for food recommendations and a good walking track around town for the day tomorrow.

On a recommendation of tacos that I absolutely had to try and a great bar, I headed out from the hostel and down Elgin Street towards El Camino. Busy and packed, I managed to find a seat on my own at the bar and tried a fish, chicken and beef taco. They were all amazing, with the beef taco being hands down my favourite beef taco I have ever had.

Afterwards, I wandered down to Union, which used to be an old Speak-easy. I had a ridiculous desert and a good chat with someone at the bar about my travel experiences so far. Full and getting tired, I decided to take a look at Parliament at night time. A beautifully structured building lit up majestically in the night. Getting late, I decided it best to get back to the hostel and to crash out for the night, for an early start looking at museums across the river from downtown. One thing was for sure though, I had already started to like Ottawa a lot, and it definitely has some amazing food!

The following morning I arose early and rugged up, and headed for a loop from the hostel, through Gatineau to the Canadian War Museum and the Canadian Museum of Nature. After a full day I wandered back over the bridge downtown to find somewhere for dinner. Later than night I partook in a ghost tour of the hostel and had a late night adventure downtown at the Elgin Street Diner. The following night I decided to move into an actual jail cell for then night, quite an experience - the bed took up the entire cell with just enough room for my bags, I was even able to lock myself up in the cell for the night! I caught up with Tim, my friend Chris' brother from Brisbane and talked Canada an Australia for a good few hours downtown.

The next day I decided to head to Kingston on my way to Toronto to catch up with a friend.

December 2013

I arrived on a chilly winters morning into Quebec City at 5am after a restless night on the train from Moncton. I grabbed a taxi and headed to the Hi Hostel in Quebec City hoping to crash on a couch there until a 3pm to check in. Testing out one of my French phrases I had learnt in Moncton, parlez-vous anglais ("Do you speak English?"). Receiving a "oui" back and a smile, I was able to crash in my bed for the morning, excellent. Sleeping until about 10 or 11, I decided to have a shower and take a look around the city. Upon looking under my bed, I noticed a friend I had made in Halifax, Jacob (previously he was above my bed in Halifax). Catching up, I headed out to wander the inner city of Quebec City. About -7 was the temperature, and with enough layers on, I found it surprisingly tolerable for a Queenslander, and dare I say, enjoyable. I trudged the snow and wandered aimlessly through streets and the old town. With Christmas so close, the lower Old Town was covered in Christmas decorations. A beautiful city, stunningly French and at times I had to tell myself I was in Canada and not in France!

I returned back in the afternoon to be invited out for a few drinks before heading out on a pub crawl later in that evening. The next day I wandered Quebec City more and ended up getting an early night's sleep before a 2 hour train ride to Montreal.

Bundling out into the train station, I caught up with another traveller who was living in Kingston who I'd met in Quebec City and then wandered down to the hostel to meet Jacob and settle in for the night. Wandering around Rue St Catherine we ended up at a hostel bar not to far away, and decided to stay there the following night. I even extended my stay for a another night to catch MGMT for only $40.

The next few days I visited Parc du Mont-Royal, found some great coffee in a coffee shop called Melbourne, went to the Olympic Park Tower and the Old Port.

With Jacob heading north to learn to snowboard, I left the hostel and after another wander through Montreal, I boarded another 2 hour train to Ontario with my first stop the nations capital, Ottawa.

December 2013

Flying back into Halifax early on the 1st December I sat at the airport in St John's planning my train adventure across from Halifax to Vancouver. Circling trains and routes and timeframes, I soon realised I really needed a good plan to link across trains to Vancouver.

Landing in Halifax, I caught the local bus into town and immediately went directly to the train station. Canadians being friendly as always, helped me decide on the first half of the journey to Toronto. With the train leaving at 12, I bundled on and headed to my first stop that evening, Moncton in New Brunswick. Rolling into town, I wandered around to find a hostel and was able to check in for the night, and then catch an early bus to Prince Edward Island for the evening. Arriving in Charlottetown, I grabbed a taxi and asked for the cheapest place in town, the taxi driver called another and asked around (the hostel was closed for the winter) and I soon had a hotel for the night. Hitting the footpath and walking the town, I soon found a really great bar, The Gahan and then wandered around the town itself. There is a distinctly English feel to Charlottetown, and it is the place where the idea of a nation was formed, and an agreement signed, quite historical.

The next morning I caught the bus back to Moncton for a connecting overnight train to Quebec City.