Hello Family and Friends!
After 38 days and nearly 6,000 miles later, Loz and I have reached the East coast!
We left you on our way East again towards Sioux Falls (22nd Aug). After Keystone we visited Bear Country USA which is an open, drive through wildlife park. It was pretty amazing as we were technically the ones in cages (cars) and the animals roam free! After missing out on seeing bears in Yellowstone we finally got to see about 30 plus black and brown bears sitting on the side of where you drive. There were also wolves, elk, bison, lions, reindeer and the big grizzly’s which were in their own little enclosure – think they’re a lot angrier than the smaller ones ;o/ Once you finished driving you get to have a walk around the ‘nursery’ where they have all the babies. They are sooo cute especially the cubs, you just want to cuddle them. I can see why people get sucked in when they see them in the wild. Although I have learnt now that if you see a baby one run hard and fast as mum’s not too far away and she’s def not up for cuddles!! Next stop was Mitchell where we went to the Corn Palace – yup you guessed it, it’s a palace made out of corn!! Mmmmm…corn… (drool). Seeing though Loz and I LOVE corn it was fitting that we stopped. It’s pretty awesome, the first palace was built in 1892 and since then they change the designs on the outside every year. They grow corn just for the palace ;o) We have been seeing lots of corn fields in our travels but unfortunately the corn hasn’t grown yet otherwise we may have made a few little stops along the way kehe ;op After a big day of driving we arrived at KOA campgrounds. They were the nicest we have had so far. Grassy sites and good bathrooms. Went to Jumbo Buffet for tea where we ate literally all we could fit for $10!! So good…
The next day we drove to Minneapolis KOA which was another good campsite except for the millions of mozzies!! I got so many bites, little buggers ;o/ They were so bad we had to eat tea in the car whilst they sat on the windows waiting for us! We visited the Mall of America which is mad. Similar to Southland in Melbs however imagine it with a small amusement park in the middle complete with rollercoasters and other rides!! It was in The Mighty Ducks movies for those who have seen them.
Yet another day of driving on the 24th as we rolled into Milwaukee. We were pretty tired, was raining and hit a bit of traffic as we reached the city so headed towards the airport and stayed at a Motel 6. Worked out in our favour as it was the cheapest motel we’ve stayed in. Had our favourite Denny’s for tea. Such a great diner. Open 24hrs, good, cheap food…what more could we want?!
On the 25th we reached Chicago! Stayed at the Rodeway Inn and did nothing exciting when we arrived, did some washing and relaxed.
The next day we trained it into the city. The station was only 10 min walk away which was great. We walked from Wrigley Square to Millennium Park to Navy Pier. Had lunch, Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream and went on the ferris wheel and swing ride on the pier. We then went on an Architectural cruise of the city, one of the best ways to see the buildings for which they are famous for. We stopped in at a little diner on the way back to our accomm and the girl were so lovely! Asking us lots of questions about Oz and gave us free soup whilst we were waiting ;o) FACT about Chicago…seems like they aren’t too strict on alcohol as heaps of people of the train were drinking beers!
Friday 27th we headed into town again and had a pretty relaxing afternoon. Saw Buckingham Fountain, pretty big but nothing spectacular. They were having an international festival so we got lunch and people watched for a bit. Our excitement of the day was going to our first baseball game at U.S Cellular Field. We saw the Chicago White Sox Vs New York Yankees. We didn’t have much choice who to cheer for as majority of people were all for the Sox. They won, woohoo!! Was lots of fun and like Oz the crowd was very entertaining too. Knew the gist of the game however, we got more info from a guy sitting near us. At the end they had an awesome fireworks show to top off a fab night!
Off again the next day. Stopped off at Notre Dame university, pretty big place. Was good to just step out of the hot car for a while! Kept going and stayed at KOA Sandusky.
Sun 29th was a day for fun, fun, fun as we went to Cedar Point Amusement Park!! It was bloody hot but we survived, staying for almost 10 hours ;o) Went on all the big rides, ~12 or so in total. They have the tallest rollercoaster called Millennium Force. The initial drop is from 350 feet and it is also one of the fastest! Loz and my favourite ride though was called Top Thrill Dragster. You sit in like a drag car and it shoots you forward at 120 miles per hr you then go vertically up, through a twist, then over the top and then vertically down the other side (think of a huge arch)!! Was crazy and awesome fun. Will put a pic up so you can see what we mean ;op Dad – I think you would have loved this park! Was late and we were stuffed, hot and bothered so stayed at Sandusky again…
Mon 30th we drove to Cleveland to see the Peter B. Lewis Building which was designed by architect Frank Gerry. Arrived at Niagara Falls and stayed at another KOA kampsite. Pretty nice and very quiet, think most kids have gone back to school now after summer break. We were very hot and bothered (and I may have been a bit irritable with the heat kehe) so we went to see a movie to escape! Saw ‘The Switch’ which we both liked.
Went to see the falls the next day and omigod they are amazing!! We got a pass which included the trolley that you can hop on and off at each stop all day, Maid of the Mist Tour, Cave of the Winds, Niagara Discovery Center, Niagara Legends of Adventure Theatre and the Aquarium of Niagara. The Cave of the Winds Tour we got some free shoes and a yellow poncho and explored beneath the American Falls. Got to go on the catwalks under the falls and stand on the famous Hurricane Deck where you get pounded by the water dropping from nearly 200 feet above! The Maid of the Mist tour took us beneath the American and Horseshoe Falls with yet another poncho required, this time blue ;o) Was unbelievable how much water goes over and how fast it goes! At the theatre we watched a movie which told us that back in the day a 60 year old (crazy) women went over the falls in a wooden barrel and survived and also a young boy wearing only a life jacket and budgie smugglers survived after his boat capsized with him, his sister and a family friend. The sister got rescued just before the edge and the family friend died. There have also been 16 daredevils go over with only 9 surviving ;o/ Wouldn’t recommend it… Stayed in Syracuse for the night.
So after a LONG and HOT drive we arrived on the East coast in Boston yesterday (1st Sept)!! Will be nice to have a rest from the car. Hopefully hurricane Earl stays far enough away from us although it is predicted to hit NY and Boston at some stage ;o/ We’ll keep track of it don’t worry ma’s ;o)
We’ve been eating well too. The meal sizes are similar to Oz however you always get extras like salad and 2 sides or soup etc plus they’re a lot cheaper for what you get. Their drinks are MASSIVE though!! Even Loz struggles with finishing a coke…yup hard to believe I know kehe ;op
Hope you’ve enjoyed another read of adventures! Thanks for all your comments and contact, glad you’re enjoying them ;o)
Will leave you with some facts we have learned along the way so far…
FACTS:
Backwards lights, funny toilets (lots of water, flat seats), have to tip everywhere as already mentioned…
EVERYONE speeds!! It’s ridiculous, they all go at least 10 miles over the limit. We overheard one motorcyclist say he hates doing anything less than 90mph which is over 140 km/hr!!
Very few people use their blinkers to change lanes, they just veer across and back.
Wrench = spanner, Hood = bonnet, Fries = hot chips (they look at you funny if you ask for hot chips), they call little bread rolls ‘biscuits’, burgers are called ‘sandwiches’ unless they have beef.
Hope you’re all well and that Sept means some warmer weather for you is on the way! Happy holidays to my folks who left for Canada and Alaska this morn, hope you have a trip of a lifetime ;o) Counting down too till we see Di, Geoff and Case!! Exciting!!
Lots of love and Hugs from Boston,
Seon XXX
