tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24444592873893720412024-02-07T02:06:45.389+00:00An American TrailThe adventures of Ali & Adam Plevin...Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-34874214225503528742012-11-24T03:11:00.002+00:002012-11-24T03:11:47.281+00:00M I C K E Y M O U S ESeven days, thats how long we had booked, seven days in the happiest place on earth. Well technically it's seven nights, so just six full days, and as such we got a five day pass for the parks, allowing us one day to go back and do the other Universal park.<br />
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<u><i>Adams Take</i></u><br />
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Day Zero, we arrive... The place is huge, I'm not talking big, I'm talking HUGE, 47 Square miles type HUGE. We follow the signs, and arrive at what looks like a toll booth, it's where anyone getting close pays for parking, not entry to the park, just the parking. No fear though, if you pull up in an RV they assume your heading to the RV park and give you directions to their park, nice and easy. Arrival at the RV park is just as easy, we didn't even have to get out of the RV, passes, plans, tickets, directions all the bits and bobs we would need were handed to us then an there, perfect. Well it would have been perfect, if they hadn't put us in a site next to a crazy lady with a whole heap of caged animals outside her RV one of which was some sort of parakeet that just didn't shut up. A quick trip to the concierge office (on the complementary bus) and we were given a new site to move to, away from the crazy lady. Some thought after the fact leads us to believe that we were also upgraded to one of the top tier spots, too, from the lowest tear spots. But just to keep it in perspective, the lowest tear spots were $67 a night and the top spots are $95! We usually pay $20! The pitch was huge, we are talking 45 or 50 foot long, and easly 30 foot wide, concrete, a big patio table and a nice BBQ, surrounded by trees so you get a little feeling of privacy and a 30 second walk from the nearest bus stop. Perfect.<br />
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We had a five day pass for the parks, thats one day for each park and a day to return to one of the parks if we didn't get one of them done in a day, there was an option to change that last day ticket to a 'hopper' so we could move between parks on that last day but as it was a cost option (nothing is free) we held off until we decided it was necessary.<br />
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To bed early, this is going to be a long week...<br />
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Day One, Animal Kingdom.<br />
The park clearly has an animal theme, think jungle book, think Lion King, think a bugs life and your there, each ride or show has a theme to it. Animal Kingdom, covers the most ground of all the parks as there is a safari ride, which takes you through what is effectively an open air cage-less zoo, very cleverly done and enjoyable. The big roller-coaster on this site is called everest and is supposed to be a ride through the Himalayas with the yeti on your tail, it's clever, fast and enjoyable, with track switching and reverse sections it's certainly not your average coaster. There was a 3D style 'ride' with added water wind and smells, There was an old school 3D 'ride' and a few other bits and bobs but surprisingly to us we were done well before we had expected, we'd anticipated being rushing and queuing from here to there to get it all done, but so much of it was aimed at the younger audience meant there wasn't actually an awful lot for a pair of adults (well one adult and one child in an adults body) to do.. So we headed back to the RV hours before we expected.<br />
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Day Two, Hollywood Studios.<br />
New Roller-coaster, New 3D style 'ride', Older style 3D 'ride', other bits and bobs. All the rides this time have a Hollywood movie type theme, Terminator, MIB, Simpsons the oddity in the pack is the big roller-coaster, based round Aerosmith. Shockingly and in a way sadly, we experienced the same things as at Animal Kingdom, the place was shockingly clean, there was always someone to answer any question never more than 20 foot away (yes there are that many staff) but again, two adults, no kids and we were all done before we expected. That included riding some of the rides more than once.<br />
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Day Three, Magic Kingdom<br />
New Roller-coaster, New 3D style 'ride', Older style 3D 'ride', other bits and bobs. (Do you see a pattern?) Everything here is based on what we remember as the classic Disney, Mickey, Donald, all the sparkle. We did the rounds, but today we loitered, the Magic Kingdom has the castle and it being the time of year that it is they cover it in lights, it looks quite spectacular. Oh and we had a bit of proof that Disney isn't run on magic, when the lights were turned on, one section failed to come on and only came on after about a 20 minute delay, much to the delight of the crowd. Then of course they were turned off for the daily fireworks show, a show is a bit of a lame term for it, it continues for about 15 minutes and there isn't a split second without an oooh or an ahhh.<br />
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Day Four, EPCOT<br />
New 3D style 'ride', Older style 3D 'ride', other bits and bobs...... all with a 'futuristic' twist.. and a food festival.... yes you read that right a food festival WHOOP! or not, yes lots of extra stands serving foods from all over the world, at a cost. The site is spread over a wide arc and walking the arc takes us longer than we expected so a decision is made that this will be the place we come back to on our fifth day and as such we take our time, only taking in about 65% of whats to be seen.<br />
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Day Five, Universal, Islands of adventure.<br />
Ahh, disney for grownups. It's a whole heap of rides, we got there early expecting crowds, and there were none! we did ride after ride multiple times with no more than a 10 minute wait, and even that was optional because we were waiting for the front seats! The Harry Potter World area is the highlight of the park, the whole area is decked out like the film and the two potter rides are the highlight of the week,<br />
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Day Six, EPCOT<br />
Day two of EPCOT and we head round the arc the oposite way to the direction we went on the first day, covering all the bits we didn't see on the first. Whilst it's got no big roller-coaster there was lots too see, odd but whilst there wasn't much to do there was much to see.<br />
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Day Seven,<br />
We depart, looking forward for a rest to recover from the happiest place in the world.<br />
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<br />
<i><u>Ali's Take</u></i><br />
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Day Zero,<br />
Arrived at the park and got given a spot next to crazy parrot lady....got moved.<br />
WENT SHOPPING IN THE LARGEST DISNEY STORE IN THE WORLD....YEY.<br />
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Day One, Animal Kingdom.<br />
.......Fun.<br />
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Day Two, Hollywood Studios.<br />
......More Fun<br />
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Day Three, Magic Kingdom.<br />
.......Sqweeeeel.<br />
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Day Four, EPCOT.<br />
.......Woo Hoo...<br />
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Day Five, Universal, Islands of adventure.<br />
......Oh My God, can i take any more fun.....yup, i can.<br />
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Day Six, EPCOT (International food and wine festival)<br />
Food......oh and more fun.<br />
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Day Seven.<br />
Gotta go now....boo hiss....no more fun......(sad face)<br />
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Do you get the feeling I had more fun than Adam at Disney. Well I did, cause I'm still a kid inside, cant help it.<br />
He is just a grumpy old git.....<br />
But I don't care, I had the time of my life...I mean come on... it's frigin Disney World....in frigin Florida.....HELLO.......<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look, he is almost smiling. But that is just because its the first day. Just wait.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry, but i chickened out. The hubby is on his own here...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ooooh, aaaahhh.....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, definitely not smiling here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See, Grumpy old git...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty high on the awesomeness ride list...</td></tr>
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Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-11756425077949436662012-11-24T01:23:00.002+00:002012-11-24T01:23:39.515+00:00Universal and Daytona SpeedwayA night stop over in Tallahassee got us over to the East cost of Florida and our first Theme park day at Universal Orlando. Universal is actually split in to two parks Universal Studios and Universal Islands of Adventure. Both lead off from the "Universal Citywalk" area. Basically a huge open mall with shops, restaurants and bars that anyone can visit, no need for a park ticket. We opted for the studios first as it's the smaller of the two parks and seemed perfect for our first day. All the rides and shows have a movie theme as you would imagine and although there are loads of "kids" themed rides like Shrek, Despicable Me and The Simpsons they where more than adequate for a big kid like me.<br />
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The whole place is very clean and tidy. There are loads of staff around more than happy to help you with any questions and plenty of street entertainment. In fact less than two minutes through the gates I was stopped by two "Agents of the MIB" they suggested I looked a little suspicious and spoke with a strange accent and demanded to see my papers...Its funny though I can't actually remember much of my conversation with them, I do remember a flash of light and a strange high pitched whistling sound, but, oh well they just asked us to move on......lol<br />
With rides like" Twister" and "Disaster" and half hour shows on "The Magic of Horror Movies" there is plenty for the grown ups too. A pretty awesome day was had by us both and we even got free entry to a live filming of a wrestling match. Pure theatrics of course, but lots of fun. Both knackered and smiled out but happy we got home pretty late.<br />
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Daytona Speedway, home of the Daytona 500 the most prestigious NASCAR race ever was our next stop. I dont see the appeal myself as all the cars do is go round and round and round.... But its loved over here.<br />
We didn't however, go for a car race. We went to attend one of the largest RV shows in the USA. "The Rally" is sponsored by The Good Sams Club, a large RV owners Club and has lots of interest.<br />
I won't bore you with the details but its basically a huge showroom selling everything from RV Toilet paper to the latest RV models and everything in-between. For an RV'er its pretty cool and there was a Vintage RV show too.<br />
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The Speedway is pretty impressive if im honest and they even offered for us to test drive one of the new RVs on it, but i think Adam was a bit worried I'd get big ideas about bringing one home. A pretty fun day was had actually and it was a nice rest from the previous day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we go...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even Crusty scares me.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'll be back.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RV show at Daytona Speedway</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vintage RVing...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purrdy.</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-37217894452007496512012-11-14T03:58:00.000+00:002012-11-14T03:58:19.860+00:00Lets take a break!Before we have our epic week in Disney World we have decided to go have a week at the sea side. Well kinda, Fort Pickens is a state park on the gulf islands off Pensacola. With only one way in or out of the park along a man made causeway it boasts seclusion and beauty. And it has both. Although there where plenty of people staying on the campsite its a pretty big place and the sites are spacious so your not on top of each other. Plus with miles of coast line to explore there was plenty of space to loose the other campers.<br />
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Being a national park of course it is also a conservation site. We happened to stay during a butterfly migration too so there was plenty to see. Butterflys, dragonflies, frogs, lizards and of course snakes. Yup i said snakes. Fortunately the only ones I saw where roadkill. And i mean fortunately for me, not fortunately for the snakes. I dont like them but i dont want them flattened either. The birds where amazing too. We got visited by beautiful Red Cardinal most days and i have never seen so many pelicans and heron in one place.<br />
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The beaches are exceptional. White sands as clean as I'v ever seen and the sea is so blue it doesn't look real. Its almost like a painting of a perfect beach. The most perfect beach you ever saw. Just amazing.<br />
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Once again out movie minds kicked in, Pensacola featured,again, in our favourite movie Contact. At the beginning of the movie a young Eleanor Arroway chats on her CB radio with a man in Florida and discovers he lives in Pensacola. A little obscure maybe but we had to go see.....<br />
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-79936495888945762582012-11-05T16:08:00.002+00:002012-11-05T16:08:52.657+00:00Judy, The Blues, Elvis and Voodoo...We gotta now make our way from Chicago to New Orleans, and I was always told the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so.....<br />
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Not quite a straight line but pretty much the most direct rout is, Chicago, St Lewis, Jackson, Memphis, New Orleans. <br />
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I drove Adam mad all the way to St Lewis singing Judy Garland, "Meet me in St Louis". Bless him. If I'm honest im surprised I made it there unharmed. Its a lovely place. A little more modern than in the film now, but the character is still there. The houses start to get big and ornate as you travel towards the southern cost. Those southern mansions you see on tv. Of course there are the usual suburbs but as there is no shortage of space here in the USA that just seems to become more apparent the further south you go. A 2 day stop just outside the city was lovely. If a necessity, to get our brakes fixed, apparently they are an essential part of the rig. We drove past the St Louis Arch but didn't make a visit. We did however go to the Zoo, one of the largest free zoo's in the USA, it was an enjoyable and cheep afternoon out.<br />
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On to Jackson. Again only a day stop. We visited the Capitol Building. Yep Thats Capitol with an "O" and not Capital with an "A". A Capital is the major city. A Capitol is where the significant city records or councils reside. Since the Jackson Capitol was responsible for some of the Souths major decisions in woman's rights and slavery abolition we decided it was a definite visit destination.<br />
The building is wonderful. Formal and regal and designed by a Brit.....Now the "Old Capitol Building", its been transformed in to an historic landmark and museum. Documenting many changes in the history of the South. Its very well done and very educational.<br />
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Now to Memphis. Home of "The Blues", and of course Elvis. Well we saw plenty of "The Blues". A visit to downtown Memphis and the famous Beale street. "Where it all started". Lined with bars and clubs with live music all the time. Some pretty good music actually, but then what else would you expect. Its not been too updated either, so its pretty much a walk in the past. Very cool. As for Elvis, well we drove past the gates of Graceland but at over $35 each to get in plus another $15 just to park up.....well I love Elvis, but not that much..... Another odd stop, was the peabody hotel, to see the ducks, no your right I said we went to a hotel to see some ducks. They are the Peabody ducks, 5 trained ducks that march in to the fountain in the hotel lobby in the morning, sit there all day than march out at the end of the day, google it you'll be amazed.<br />
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So, destination New Orleans, What can you say. The place is mad...thats mad in a good way, not mad in a scary, southern witchdoctor way. Mad because the closer you get to the city the less city there is. The whole place is wetlands, water and houses on stilts. Less cars and more boats. More crocs than people. I'm making it sound bad.... Its not, its brill. The huge 3 and 4 lane roads start to elevate as you travel in to the city as it needs to carry you over the watery marshes. Houses dont have cars in the drives, there are no drives, there are pontoons, with boats. Of course in the very centre of the city there are cars, just not as many as you expect.<br />
The city is wonderful. The outskirts has even bigger southern mansions on endless plots of land. Think of Tara from gone with the wind and your there.<br />
The centre is beautiful, streets of tightly packed multicoloured houses sporting ornate metal balustrades and balconies. Beautifully tiled front steps and porches. At night the wonderful blown glass, gas street lights giving off that golden glow that only an open flame can. Im making it all sound romantic, its more sensual. Plenty of bars and eateries on every corner selling everything from delicate french pastries to southern smothered BBQ, but all selling aromatic and very potent coffee....<br />
We paid a visit to the most famous coffee shop in the south. Cafe Du Monde is an open air eatery that opened in 1862 with only two things on the menu. Coffee and donuts.... But not just any coffee and donuts. THE coffee and donuts of the south. Coffee with chicory and square donuts piled high with icing sugar called Beignets. When in New Orleans its a must for everyone to try at least once, and I highly recommend it.....NOM....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hallloooooo....from St Louis Zoo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Qwack</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Blues on Beale St</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Capitol</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look ma, no roads...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Orleans Streets</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Life is like a box of chocolates... or in this case a bucket of shrimp...</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-55636468814984501452012-10-17T21:51:00.001+01:002012-10-17T21:51:14.981+01:00Just blew in from the windy city......The windy city is mighty purrrdy, but its frigin freezin.....<br />
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Chicago has to be right up there as one of my favourite places so far. Its clean, classy, fun, eclectic, WINDY and beautiful.<br />
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So, ok, they dont call it the windy city for nothing but, HELLO......<br />
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Honestly though it was an awesome place. A bit strange, but in a good fun way. It has a series of rail lines called the "L", short for "elevated" criss crossing the city centre about two stories above your head. The trains all silver and shiny like a strange sifi metropolis movie from the 40s. The streets are very clean and tidy with lovely fenced vegetation plots along the pavements playing music and narrating your journey as you pass historic venues. But its not ostentatious. The buildings are beautiful and well kept but nothing is in your face. You have to look hard to see the shops inside the buildings. There was no gaudy signage. It just let you explore at your own pace. And that was the kinda feeling you got from the whole place. Laid back. Relaxed. Sure there where loads of people on the streets doing their thing, but no one seemed to be rushing. Coffee houses had plenty of customers, and with a Starbucks on every other street corner (im not kidding) thats a lot of people not rushing...<br />
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One thing we had seen in the early stages of planning was a company that did Segway tours in different cities, and we decided Chicago would be a good place to do one. We booked our tour for an afternoon starting at 2. Dan, our instructor and tour guide was brill. very patient, lol.....<br />
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We watched our safety instruction video, collected our helmets and machines and walked them across the street to a convenient park for our basic lesson. Now i dont know if anyone has ever been on a Segway before but for me it was a little disorientating. The machine is all about balance but not how you think. It is designed to make it as hard as possible to fall off. What i mean is, if you lean forward you go forward but if you lean too far the machine will correct itself, and push back against you to stop you falling off. Its hard to explain but its weird, fun, but weird. <br />
Our tour took us all around the front part of the city, lake side parks, Megis field (the old airfield that was closed after 9/11) and past some of the wonderful old buildings housing Museums and Art Galleries. We zipped around at about 10mph for 3 hours. We saw so much. Plus, i didn't fall off... It was awesome.<br />
We decided do go back the next day and do some more sightseeing, on foot this time and get a bit closer to the wonderful surroundings. We joined the coffee drinkers this time and watched the world go by.<br />
We did find something to change the laid back tone though. An art installation by a british artist called Martin Creed. Basically it was a room half filled with red balloons. The idea was to make us aware of the one thing around us everyday we take for granted but never see...The Air...It was a really simple idea but it was so fun. Running blindly through a room filled, above my head, of red ballons. The child in me was most amused. In fact i think my incontinence featured in former thrilling blogs may have reared its ugly, moist head...Did i larrffff...!?<br />
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We had also decided to meet up with a friend of Adams who lives in Chicago. Greg and his family. We met up at a fundraising street fair where his daughter was working. Her boyfriends family run a pork produce business and are well know in the area. They had a food van at the fair selling slow roast pork sandwiches. I dont mean they took their time to serve you, i mean the pork was slow cooked...We had to try some, it would be rude not too....<br />
We managed to meet up with them again for a sit down dinner this time. PIZZA.... well we where in Chicago...Its the law.....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup, thats a big shiny bean...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look ma...its me not falling off...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2hyphenhyphenBISdCgdcEUegeJWhpXFC7LE96Ob2S0VKp_2ySl7qOOH5OfvX9tUUJh9L7u0qsetB7tpvLbdP4qF1v2M-qsonuxpWoGBr_53nWAZZg5GgTzvVx2rdmGrnXMMlCEyh3_joUjDc-Osie/s1600/IMG_2743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2hyphenhyphenBISdCgdcEUegeJWhpXFC7LE96Ob2S0VKp_2ySl7qOOH5OfvX9tUUJh9L7u0qsetB7tpvLbdP4qF1v2M-qsonuxpWoGBr_53nWAZZg5GgTzvVx2rdmGrnXMMlCEyh3_joUjDc-Osie/s320/IMG_2743.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huge owls on top of the Chicago Library.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_XeMJdvxnSG_xOKig938CdLy3sUrNAk0C0QbzlU8356gMCFxwi8r-xWrDpSCARRT8zQRhvhEj2T1PB8s3gTenAB0_HVGMq9sV4OnQX5s2AB2vkrptmkuyk1b06lAQWDDxISMNdygW6vs/s1600/IMG_2756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_XeMJdvxnSG_xOKig938CdLy3sUrNAk0C0QbzlU8356gMCFxwi8r-xWrDpSCARRT8zQRhvhEj2T1PB8s3gTenAB0_HVGMq9sV4OnQX5s2AB2vkrptmkuyk1b06lAQWDDxISMNdygW6vs/s320/IMG_2756.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slightly more than 99 red ballons...</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg047Eh4bns-3omUkNtR51tS9CR5o5AW0o8vJFqrGJ883ivMPmq_WcSmU9eoE5nuPd5CNFPXBoZCODfZKK3exxClScYx1BFkqQMwm2_2IQO9zBlzLnIuZBJhyJIfinyLrg_j8_OoNqnjV5y/s1600/IMG_2782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg047Eh4bns-3omUkNtR51tS9CR5o5AW0o8vJFqrGJ883ivMPmq_WcSmU9eoE5nuPd5CNFPXBoZCODfZKK3exxClScYx1BFkqQMwm2_2IQO9zBlzLnIuZBJhyJIfinyLrg_j8_OoNqnjV5y/s320/IMG_2782.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sprawling metropolis..or something like that...</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-50803042100321050562012-10-10T04:39:00.000+01:002012-10-10T04:39:55.177+01:00Close Encounters of the Plevin kind..We had mash potato for tea the day before our visit to Devils Tower, in homage to one of, if not the best sifi movie ever made. If the location and the reference have eluded you as to which film i am referring then may i suggest you stop reading, turn off and unplug your computer and return to the dark depths of whichever vault you have been locked in for the last 35 years........<br />
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind, for me at least, encapsulates all that is sifi. Steven Spielbergs vision of our first extra terrestrial encounter and the lives of the people caught up in it was mind-blowing for me. Its images of Devils Tower portrayed in the movie, weather they be in mash potato, mud from Roy Nearys (Richard Dreyfuss character) garden or the mountain itself where forever imprinted on my mind. To visit it , well what can i say....i was so excited a little bit of pee krept out....<br />
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It is actually a very sacred place to the Native Americans that come from miles around to honour the legend of the mountain. Trees surrounding the rockface have prayers and cloths tied to them for just that reason. Its said that a great bear was accidentally conjured up by a young girl and her sister. It killed everyone in their village and chased the girls and their remaining brothers (who where off hunting) to a clearing. The Earth god tried to save them buy pushing the ground under their feet up high out of the reach of the beast. In his efforts to climb the huge barrier before him his claws shaped the unique rock face of the mountain.<br />
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The Visitors centre was really interesting and explained the geological reason for the strange rock formation. I preferred the Indian stories myself....<br />
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We got to the mountain just before lunch. It had been quit cloudy and overcast where we where staying but we reckoned as the mountain was over an hour away it would be ok.<br />
Well it was pretty bleek when we arrived, and bloody cold, but we where not to be put off. The walk around the base of the mountain was only about 1.5 miles and paved and we had extra layers with us so we set off in high spirits....ok, we set off with me grinning like a cheshire cat and squealing periodically...(thats where the peeing bit came in to it). sorry.<br />
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The view didn't disappoint though. The pics dont do it justice. Its completely understandable that the Native Americans find this an amazing place. The tower has a twist to its base, an example of the exertion of force used to push the great rock out of the ground. Words cant do it justice either. It may sound silly but i felt very honoured to have been in its presence.<br />
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The weather held good till we reached the far side of the mountain and then it decided to show us just what it was made of....The clouds dropped, the wind blew and the rain started to fall... and if im honest it made it even better, even more exciting to be there. In fact im grinning again while i type. Can you not see my grin floating in mid air just in front of you... no face, just my huge grinning smile?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOU-MlrfmoXo4QYPkul_mSr4Ukla-cbLpVUx0UvShVgGygQptuG-yc92xnZ87Zz1dejUas2r75r7617cB7wKF93MZx-2RgKF_tC1U4tAmO-WMcAtzofBzzGckoBhwnbJg9i22XzdCt2t4o/s1600/IMG_2552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOU-MlrfmoXo4QYPkul_mSr4Ukla-cbLpVUx0UvShVgGygQptuG-yc92xnZ87Zz1dejUas2r75r7617cB7wKF93MZx-2RgKF_tC1U4tAmO-WMcAtzofBzzGckoBhwnbJg9i22XzdCt2t4o/s320/IMG_2552.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visible from miles away (squeal)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQTrXAWhik5EMuaVA3-5W04iCqxrazdaE95t3d2sQJEOQhASkwCC4f37sxMpi_kb397xtwdgKQV4FQ6oVaVEOQZqzRDekur5fhuiAae30_2nLCvoLomRU2dG0dRP_nnsHaE-fml5cW_YIs/s1600/IMG_2560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQTrXAWhik5EMuaVA3-5W04iCqxrazdaE95t3d2sQJEOQhASkwCC4f37sxMpi_kb397xtwdgKQV4FQ6oVaVEOQZqzRDekur5fhuiAae30_2nLCvoLomRU2dG0dRP_nnsHaE-fml5cW_YIs/s320/IMG_2560.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closer (bigger squeal)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqCfcdTAx55rk5XitxsSrBDj79K6t8S8_xgTtiy4H8KQByil1Q9Apmy65AzXLRFn6h7i05GdLU4IYX1TgwaEyPc07qoWiwp907Iz1ch4tXQgeMsTUJeSftejmlmMD-TjTRAM-9XyewK9W/s1600/IMG_2589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqCfcdTAx55rk5XitxsSrBDj79K6t8S8_xgTtiy4H8KQByil1Q9Apmy65AzXLRFn6h7i05GdLU4IYX1TgwaEyPc07qoWiwp907Iz1ch4tXQgeMsTUJeSftejmlmMD-TjTRAM-9XyewK9W/s320/IMG_2589.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closer (Squeal and loss of bladder control)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikX6-wgo0NAE-gjUkKeF3sUJPZSx624T-zLciuoLJzty39PTfTrnOHo7OTbnp9s1x-TscowbhnNX1WpSzqe3DL3pJUGb0pon64Pp6v7uV9_aGPaE1tAW9f5_Ua6nJquwHeiIaruFWRvdgY/s1600/IMG_2603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikX6-wgo0NAE-gjUkKeF3sUJPZSx624T-zLciuoLJzty39PTfTrnOHo7OTbnp9s1x-TscowbhnNX1WpSzqe3DL3pJUGb0pon64Pp6v7uV9_aGPaE1tAW9f5_Ua6nJquwHeiIaruFWRvdgY/s320/IMG_2603.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close (oh dear)</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-56944008643628446372012-10-10T03:37:00.001+01:002012-10-10T03:37:25.718+01:00Crazy HorseFor those of you that dont know Crazy Horse was the war chief of the Lakota Indians, and lead them into battle at the Litte Big Horn. He refused to sign any treaties or live on a reservation for his whole life evading capture until the clan master Red Cloud insisted he turn himself in when he signed a peace treaty. Crazy Horse did as instructed and was detained in a local jail to await transportation to a reservation. However he was tragically killed whilst in jail by a guard who stabbed him in the back while he was apparently trying to escape.<br />
Crazy Horse was a legendary worrier for all Native Americans, not just for his battle skills but for his believes and the moral justice he wanted for his people.<br />
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He said:- "The white man made many promises, but kept only one. They promised to take our land"<br />
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In 1948 Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear asked sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who was in-fact busy helping carve Mount Rushmore just down the road, if he would create a sculpture for the Native American Cultural Museum. He graciously agreed to take on the mammoth task and single handedly started work on the Crazy Horse carving. After spending 34 years on the project, and refusing to take any salary for his services Korczak died age 74. He is buried at the foot of the Crazy Horse Memorial. His wife now manages the continuing work on the sculpture which is solely funded by donations and visitor fees.<br />
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So what does it look like? Well its a very ambitious dream. A wonderful idea designed by the sculptor and Lakota indians, but as they have refused any government funding, wanting it to stay as genuine as possible it seems a very distant dream. As work started 50 years ago, and they have only finished his head, the huge sculpture of a Lakota War Chief pointing into the distance from the back of his trusted steed seems very, very far away.<br />
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But he is an awesome sight. His huge features bursting out of the rock face, strong and assertive in his expression. Very realistic. Which is pretty cool considering there are no pictures of Crazy Horse himself. All the sculptor had to go on was word of mouth from the last 5 remaining Lakota warriors that road with him...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyx888wrKqlhEgf0x42fvGj9hWsHmSXElIvh8XsazyAMCknn8H0dt9edmz_2qVqF_NmUXUliqy5B9N0P-WLJN5N8FJ3x1tblevVkuDTQhISzm0aKQWNsVzRGPp7EfeGwv86CwatguIJ9yV/s1600/IMG_2528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyx888wrKqlhEgf0x42fvGj9hWsHmSXElIvh8XsazyAMCknn8H0dt9edmz_2qVqF_NmUXUliqy5B9N0P-WLJN5N8FJ3x1tblevVkuDTQhISzm0aKQWNsVzRGPp7EfeGwv86CwatguIJ9yV/s320/IMG_2528.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It dont look it, but thats a pretty big head...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjzWGNLghLxNvofbHgL7PRxp1ufFgq_auFjeGNJMwL2-fwndTB8MStfJLr_gvZNYMqWOkONvlRbc-CjuphbAfux7BdZZSEaO3KGX2lzfQ8lGhfK2OnD9V3ib8q_SSdRI9pvkw0xz4twPF/s1600/IMG_2530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjzWGNLghLxNvofbHgL7PRxp1ufFgq_auFjeGNJMwL2-fwndTB8MStfJLr_gvZNYMqWOkONvlRbc-CjuphbAfux7BdZZSEaO3KGX2lzfQ8lGhfK2OnD9V3ib8q_SSdRI9pvkw0xz4twPF/s320/IMG_2530.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A poster showing the scale of the carving.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj647vVl1Ovj4suC1Zj49YQOj7LZo2Y3KIKan7C6H6S7kkCo4tADuUI9Qs21L1vzD5rY9DRyVHOS0uoB5BR9WhtyRzVw85s51EMf_ru0n1pLxQ0dxt7vDnn5tsg2TCgL5Ciq5OOp_01fMFU/s1600/IMG_2536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj647vVl1Ovj4suC1Zj49YQOj7LZo2Y3KIKan7C6H6S7kkCo4tADuUI9Qs21L1vzD5rY9DRyVHOS0uoB5BR9WhtyRzVw85s51EMf_ru0n1pLxQ0dxt7vDnn5tsg2TCgL5Ciq5OOp_01fMFU/s320/IMG_2536.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A scale model of how he is supposed to look finished.<br />
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I would just like to add that we visited Crazy Horse under the instruction of our neighbours Buddy and Dianna, who insisted it was not to be missed. Cheers guys. We are so glad we went. xxx</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-44511452096788478232012-10-04T06:09:00.002+01:002012-10-04T06:09:52.459+01:00Wild Bill, Calamity Jane and Deadwood.A fun place to visit with a pretty cool history too.<br />
Deadwood, famous gold mining town in the Black hills of South Dakota and resting place of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.<br />
The town was virtually rebuilt after being devastated by a fire in 1879, the wooden buildings finally replaced by stone as it was the third major fire. Most of the buildings have been lovingly preserved and the main street takes you back in time. (Our second time traveling experience as you may recall).<br />
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The only thing missing where the cowboys. but if you imagined hard enough you could almost see the hustle and bustle of a thriving mining town. Other than the shootings and nearly being run over by the stage coach i bet it would have been cool.....<br />
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The main reason we got to see Deadwood was from the recommendation of our lovely neighbours, Buddy and Dianna, who actually took us to breakfast yesterday. Cheers guys.<br />
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-13588678701619354882012-10-04T05:43:00.000+01:002012-10-04T05:43:09.735+01:00Mount RushmoreBuilt as a fund raiser for the area and being named after a junior attorney is not the first couple of things that spring to mind when you think of Mount Rushmore, but they are just two of the fascinating facts we learned when we visited. <br />
The area was in dire need of a boost and the locals decided a tourist attraction was needed. When the gold rush had died down the land was no longer of any value and the settlers there where finding it hard to make ends meet, a well known sculpter was asked if he would consider taking on the mammoth task. When the subjects where chosen for the sculpture by a child from a local school who submited his sugestion and the Us government found out they where to be huge likenesses of former presidents they gladly coughed up the $98 million it took to carve the huge piece.<br />
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The sculptor Gutzon Borglum and 400 men took 14 years to finish the faces and they aren't actually finished. Work only stopped when Gutzons health declined and when he went to hospital for minor surgery a freak complication resulted in his death. Although his son took over work on the sculpture he only did some minor touches, stating that his fathers work ethic was that a sculpture was forever a work in progress and would never really be "finished".<br />
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As for the attorney. Mr Charles E Rushmore.<br />
Sent to the area to check land register papers, he asked a local what the rock formation to the north of his property was called, as all the ranges had names. "Never called it nothin, maybe from now on we should call it Rushmore!" was his reply...<br />
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For those that dont know the four presidents faces featured on Mount Rushmore are :-<br />
<br />
George Washington, the first US President.<br />
Thomas Jefferson, the man responsible for the first ice cream recipe.<br />
Abraham Lincoln, well known Vampire killer,<br />
and Davie Crocket......wait, no, sorry, Theodore Rooservelt, namesake of the Teddy Bear.<br />
Well he looks like Davie Crocket to me...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3-48YkIURnqlW9wzM5dBvfiHFEvcaKkt6I8NmIJI23rjhas8uyP-TnahwMYGD27U2a2bk69dE0Quqwq8MPT-VJhPg_x_8orDJq0iyFHRKucKmRactPqz17M8lYeTWlzKqD4qddkzSb-g/s1600/IMG_2434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3-48YkIURnqlW9wzM5dBvfiHFEvcaKkt6I8NmIJI23rjhas8uyP-TnahwMYGD27U2a2bk69dE0Quqwq8MPT-VJhPg_x_8orDJq0iyFHRKucKmRactPqz17M8lYeTWlzKqD4qddkzSb-g/s320/IMG_2434.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Them guys...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnu3YvFxnOeBQY3761e1mwPo9w4ohl_6NuNpdQksjunMVriCOI_Codg7aMGeVk_Oe9yB6STuZXhQgqIwj7kg1Vde1Cue4RPqR4KR_nemfUpExV73_K9vczzRYkgaxVFaCEHPX43F_R81c9/s1600/IMG_2447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnu3YvFxnOeBQY3761e1mwPo9w4ohl_6NuNpdQksjunMVriCOI_Codg7aMGeVk_Oe9yB6STuZXhQgqIwj7kg1Vde1Cue4RPqR4KR_nemfUpExV73_K9vczzRYkgaxVFaCEHPX43F_R81c9/s320/IMG_2447.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How it was meant to look.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49cQH92JwarvD-M02_0Jrd2kSQj6J4guKM9HBKV6kA9E4tJOieQwejEcmJN2iD9pzA6Yyh4FVsyICE9wnW0lxB-awuIWKU-0NRXilTtlVJ_KVIhPhP0DASwHGgHnHpnau5jVwqLmkxuK8/s1600/IMG_2451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49cQH92JwarvD-M02_0Jrd2kSQj6J4guKM9HBKV6kA9E4tJOieQwejEcmJN2iD9pzA6Yyh4FVsyICE9wnW0lxB-awuIWKU-0NRXilTtlVJ_KVIhPhP0DASwHGgHnHpnau5jVwqLmkxuK8/s320/IMG_2451.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thats us it is.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB5jlWVCCZWNNwlv25Rw-liZ-4hP6iVrwL45603M6nki5rRkvWjYc_K9UPc-m8iCPdd1FAbM0EeaeoZZ5qH3H6jylrO_cw4tdnzgLBxJnNWWvRqu8UyFJHH8wg3nkur_ZNRzIE_beJ3p4c/s1600/IMG_2448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB5jlWVCCZWNNwlv25Rw-liZ-4hP6iVrwL45603M6nki5rRkvWjYc_K9UPc-m8iCPdd1FAbM0EeaeoZZ5qH3H6jylrO_cw4tdnzgLBxJnNWWvRqu8UyFJHH8wg3nkur_ZNRzIE_beJ3p4c/s320/IMG_2448.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gutzon Borglum</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-15279767049405573912012-10-04T04:47:00.000+01:002012-10-04T05:16:14.953+01:00Hey Booboo!....Did you know that Yellowstone was the first ever National Park? Me nether. In 1872 because of its geological significance, historical value and shear beauty it was declared the first ever National Park in the world. Housing the majority of the worlds geysers (over 300 of them) hot springs and mud pots Yellowstone is a geologists wet dream. Scientists come from all over the world to study over 10,000 thermal features. And they have over 2 million tourists, following hot on their heels....(do you like what i did there?)<br />
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We started at the North entrance to the park and headed straight for Mammoth Hot Springs. Its the sight of, well, a Mammoth Hot Spring. Water just emerges from the ground forming pools of hot, mineral rich liquid that then overflows to create another pool that then overflows to create another and so on...and then just disappears back in to the ground. The end result is huge cascade of steaming, brightly coloured waterfalls. They are hard to describe, but they are just beautiful, if a little smelly...<br />
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Its not actually the minerals that give it its wonderful colour though. Thousand of tiny organisms called Thermopiles thrive in the hot temperatures and good old photosynthesis is what gives them the wonderful colours making the rockface a huge living organism.<br />
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Where the magma mass is closer to the earths surface (the closest recorded is only 4 miles) it super heats the water to a record 400*F and builds pressure and steam. This is what forms the mud pots and geysers.<br />
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The most well know is of course "Old Faithful" which was brill to see. Although not quite as faithful as he used to be after an earthquake in 1952 changed "the plumbing" in the park. Some geysers just stopped and others became more frequent, others that had dried up years ago started flowing again. Apparently a common practice in the park. The great pressure that is evident from the churning and groaning as he prepares to blow is breathtaking and a real crowd pleaser.<br />
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Another beauty in the park is the wildlife and seing my first Buffalo made me squeal.... or was it a Bison? Whats the difference between a Buffalo and a Bison i hear you ask...<br />
Well you cant wash yr hands in a Buffalo..........parumpum......sorry<br />
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But seriously we saw more animals in one day at Yellowstone than we have in our whole time here. It was pretty cool...<br />
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Buffalo<br />
Moose<br />
Elk<br />
Black Squirrels<br />
Chipmunks<br />
Horned mountain Goats<br />
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Cool hu!?<br />
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-60012812861122673272012-10-04T04:46:00.001+01:002012-10-04T04:46:57.947+01:00On the road.Well San Francisco was amazing if a bit tiring, so we decided to take a couple of days off. We took this time to plot our route across to Chicago . Theres a lot of ground to cover between here and there and its a bit scares for descent camping.<br />
We have a trip to Yellowstone planned but the only way to get there is to drive straight through the National park itself. Now the rig is a pretty awesome vehicle and has done us proud but pushing it to drive through the landscapes of the national parks is, well, pushing it...<br />
So, a few day trips are in the planning. Just as we did at the start of this trip, set up camp just outside the interesting area and drive in in the car.<br />
A two night stop just north of Yellowstone for a day trip to the park to see "Old Faithful" geyser and Mammoth Hot Springs is on the cards, and another three night stop for Mount Rushmore and Devils Table.<br />
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just some of the views from the rig window.<br />
<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-8669225223918400302012-09-20T07:29:00.003+01:002012-09-20T17:07:42.591+01:00A week in San FranciscoA week, yes a whole week, we did a week in L.A. so why not a week in S.F.<br />
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We elected to stay out of town again, but this time we knew in advance that we were going to use the Bay Area Rapid Transport (BART). It's a network of trains that criss crosses the whole of the greater San Francisco Bay area. We could drive for 40 minutes, hop on the BART and be in town in another hour. Sorted. Now i know that sounds like a long time to travel, but it was no hassle and the trains where pretty comfy.<br />
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Day One, We spent the day on the local area, picking up some stuff, doing the odd job round the Rv, nothing interesting.<br />
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Day Two, we hopped on to the BART, blasted into town and hit the Wharf, starting at pier 1 and walking up to pier 40 ish, looking at the SeaLions that have taken up residence on Pier 39 for the last 22 years, looking at the Disney Wonder, a cruise ship that is currently in dock. There is lots going on and lots to see, it's a touch cooler than what we have seen since being here and it's so nice not to be walking about cooking in our t-shirts. When we got just past Pier 40 something I spotted a cycle hire place, so we did, two bikes, and a route that would take us over the Golden Gate Bridge, and to a ferry port on the far side of the bay and a ferry back to the near side. The cycle was great, the views were awesome, and it'll go into the memory banks never to be forgotten.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently we are about to cycle over that........</td></tr>
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Day Three, A day off, well that was the idea, we ended up driving out to Berkley so I could pick up some spares for my AR Drone, and I'm glad we did, the area was really nice, so much so we stopped for lunch and had a nice walk about.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So this is mine. what you havin?</td></tr>
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Day Four, Santa Cruz, or what some might know as Santa Carla, the alternate name was what it was called in the film 'Lost Boys' yes it's another film set. We walked the beach, walked the pier, had a really nice day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The parking lot and roller coster from "Lost Boys".</td></tr>
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Day Five, Another day off, a proper day off, I've started to get really miffed with driving for hours every day, the stress of driving in town is getting to me. So today I've refused to drive, or even go out in the car!<br />
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Day Six, Alcatraz & a visitor.<br />
Ali here...My turn.<br />
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Alcatraz was my idea. It was somewhere i have always wanted to go. Again it has appeared in numerous movies. Plenty of film stars have walked the corridors of this infamous jail and lived to tell the tail. But its a pretty daunting place to be.<br />
The Island was originally set up as a defence post for the bay and its first inmates where deserters and such like. Once the gold rush had died down and the "Defence Post" was no longer needed the military buildings where turned in to the jail we know now.<br />
As you would expect its not a pretty place. Its a jail. its not supposed to be pretty. But its really not a nice place. There was a quote on one of the walls in the visitors shop. It said...<br />
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"If you break the rules, you go to prison.<br />
If you break the prison rules, you go to Alcatraz."<br />
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This was a place for the worst offenders of its time, the most troublesome inmates. And it shows. The cells are 5x9x7 concrete boxes with bars on the front. D Block was solitary and although the rooms where actually bigger it was simply because the men where locked in 24/7, only being released once a week for a shower and change of clothes. The last 4 rooms on D Block are "Dark Solitary" and basically are a metal box with a toilet in. The lights where meant to be kept on in these 4 rooms but both guards and inmates alike stated they where never put on....<br />
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Now we all have our own opinions about incarceration. And i dont want to get into a debate about the living conditions of inmates. All i will say is, if i was ever jailed at Alcatraz, and lived through it, i dont think i would ever want to break the law again.....<br />
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The island is undergoing a lot of renovations. At the moment the iconic water tower at one end of the island is all wrapped up and is being restored. The original wardens house is just a derelict building, and the guards housing where they lived with their families, kids included, are also being restored. There is also a conservation order on parts of the island and its a national park where people volunteer to help the upkeep of the flora and fauna. But none of this really distracted from the reality of what was once a maximum security detention center for some of the most notorious criminals on the planet.<br />
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I think i can honestly say iv never been so fascinated and horrified at the same time.....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The walk from the dock.</td></tr>
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Oh, and our visitor was the lovely Mr Byatt. Here on a 2 week training course for his new job. Bless him for traveling all that way for a cuppa. Love you Steve. xxx</div>
<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-43156138842302265202012-09-13T02:17:00.001+01:002012-09-13T02:17:12.802+01:00LA, Day Five, Lots.....<br />
Day five, Disney Concert Hall, Walk of fame, Chinese theatre.<br />
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The Disney Concert Hall has to be one of the, if not the, most spectacular buildings we have ever seen. Its flowing brushed stainless steel exterior, it's beautiful wooden interior go to make this building spectacular. It's hidden secret though is an almost sold eight inch thick concrete box that encompasses the main auditorium, giving it the best acoustics in the world. We were lucky enough to get to see in the main auditorium, which is not normally open to the public. We took the free audio tour of the building, narrated by John Lithgow (an L.A. native) which gave us so many little insights into the building that you'd not get if you were to just wander about on your own. We even ate our lunch in the garden that is part of the building, all be it on the second floor.<br />
The main feature of the garden is a large water fountain, in the shape of a rose, made with thousands of bit's of broken Delft pottery, Walt Disney's wife Lilly commissioned the building and this rose was designed by the architect as a tribute to Lilly using her love for cheap Delft as inspiration. Oddly though when he approached Delft pottery for the cheap "seconds" to use in the fountain they refused and instead supplied the 'expensive stuff', over 300 pieces of 'expensive stuff', which were then broken to make the mosaic fountain.......<br />
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The Walk of Fame, those pink stars embedded into the floor for many, many blocks along Hollywood boulevard. We got the metro to Hollywood and Vine to start our walk west towards the Chinese theatre, the stars are every few feet and most are names you'd recognise, with the odd one you don't. We walked a few blocks to the Chinese theatre stopping to photograph just a few of the stars, the neighbourhood is another place that makes you think cheap and touristy, not the Hollywood you imagine. The closer we got to the Chinese theatre the more up market things became as you'd imagine. We gawped for a while at the hand and foot prints at the front of the theatre, at the architecture, the opulence, the crowds... There's now a small mall to the side of the theatre with views of the Hollywood sign, so we had the obligatory photo and walk about the overpriced shops before returning to the metro and back to the car.<br />
Day six, day off (Today)<br />
Doing the things we need to do before moving off tomorrow, catching up on blog posts etc :)<br />
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Farewell LA....see ya...wouldn't want to be ya......<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Disney Concert Hall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE Auditorium, general public not allowed</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chinese Theatre</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The start of the walk of fame</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-8120215571469541922012-09-13T02:08:00.004+01:002012-09-13T02:08:40.341+01:00LA,Day Four, Vasquez RocksVasquez Rocks.<br />
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What can you say, anyone who has ever seen or owned a tv, even for a shortest measure of time, will have seen Vasquez rocks, you may not have known their name but their unique formation will have been imprinted on your minds eye for an eternity.<br />
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Receiving their name from a notorious bandit from the late 1800's who used them as a hideout to evade the authorities, they are an awesome sight to behold. Jutting out of the earth at an obscure angle they give the sourunding area unique feel, transporting you from a daring cliff face in Zorro proclaiming his unity with the people to a far off planets surface where Captain Kirk battles a lizard king. For geeks like us these images and all the ones in between (bonanza, Bill & Ted, flint stones, Paul) instantaneously flash across our minds when stood staring at the rocks. <br />
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For any non-geek out there it was very picturesque.<br />
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Packed lunch and AR Drone in hand we ventured up the rocks to find our pitch and bask in it's awesomeness, steeper than it looks we struggled to go up and opted to go around the main piece of jutting rock finding a crevice in the shade on one side to stop and eat some lunch. Lunch done, AR Drone played with we returned to the car.<br />
Upon witnessing another group of tourists struggling but making it to the top of the rocks we regained our British stiff upper lip and decided we were not to be outdone, leaving all our stuff at the car, bar a bottle of water each, we started our hike up the iconic rock face. Now we are not hikers or rock climbers by any leap of the imagination and neither of us are sixteen any more but we decided that if we took our time we could tame this beast in true British fashion, slowly but surly we mad it 3/4 of the way up to a sheltered resting place where we took in the awesome views, however this was not enough for one of us, insisting on going higher one of us kept the sheltered spot whilst the other continued to climb, it was hot up there, no cover, just an open rock face and even for and experienced sun worshiper it was too hot. Giving up the efforts to reach the pinnacle a return was made to the shady nook in the rocks where the heat, exertion, age and general lack of fitness took hold, and resulted in one of us hitting the deck like a sack of spuds. The other ran to said parties aid and after turning them up the right way, sitting them in the shade and dousing them in cool water I Felt much better ;)<br />
Bugger I gave the game away.<br />
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Yes I fainted like a girl.....<br />
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Once composure was regained a slow decent and return to the car was made, nursing bruised knees and a bloodied nose, injuries sustained from falling face first onto the rocks (it's not the falling that hurts, it's the sudden stop) With my ego bruised more than my body, we live to fight on another day, the sun won this one, but there will be others.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NOW you know the rockss we mean!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look, it's Adam</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outch</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iconic</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-21814675547810049412012-09-13T02:05:00.003+01:002012-09-13T02:05:44.249+01:00LA, Day Two, A couple of beaches.Long Beach and Venice Beach.<br />
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Long Beach isn't what it sounds, it's an area as opposed to a single beach, we weren't there for any specific reason other than to say we'd been there. We stopped at a little boardwalk and had an ice cream, taking some photos of the area and the Queen Mary ship, which has it's resting place here as a tourist attraction.<br />
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Venice beach. What a wonderfully bizarre place, from buskers who couldn't hit a note to guitarists who I could listen to for hours. I don't think either of us could write sufficiently to explain the diversity of this place needless to say Ali's said she'd live there, yes it's that weird. The one guy, in our mind the most famous person known to frequent the beach, was there which kinda made Ali's day, he's the rollerblading guitar playing raster from more than one movie, Ali's favourite though being The Assassin where he sings and plays whilst circling the lead actress. Considering how old that film is he's been there doing his thing for a long time. We stayed on the beach whilst the sun set, I had taken the AR Drone, so got that out for a bit of a play on the open beach which was cool, I got some good footage and only crashed once....<br />
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Day two done, and much better than day one.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6ZVHx2mPFaW6koPnFFwMuHIionVjxaHUGnm_wGLaI9x7p56WhQbIaAJUdoVqDU9FLrOY2TrVqDUKBW4wR-t9WwfHeHkmudRbwyoJmbNa3OJpse92LH1uS430QFkqSZ4AJ5K4di90y3gT/s1600/IMG_1838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6ZVHx2mPFaW6koPnFFwMuHIionVjxaHUGnm_wGLaI9x7p56WhQbIaAJUdoVqDU9FLrOY2TrVqDUKBW4wR-t9WwfHeHkmudRbwyoJmbNa3OJpse92LH1uS430QFkqSZ4AJ5K4di90y3gT/s320/IMG_1838.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Us again</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWi1kqCEyb24voO2iyVVsCbgfhpQ-w-9QZQPRYyRekIwewGhdBDMFCf7SBzLp1c49DwdD0ne-GfpTKYxibea4ewgW3GcXTNInmrEvTVzQdpezRIv8sgNo2ofoUm8uD53quOnyd7sEJ-zer/s1600/IMG_1830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWi1kqCEyb24voO2iyVVsCbgfhpQ-w-9QZQPRYyRekIwewGhdBDMFCf7SBzLp1c49DwdD0ne-GfpTKYxibea4ewgW3GcXTNInmrEvTVzQdpezRIv8sgNo2ofoUm8uD53quOnyd7sEJ-zer/s320/IMG_1830.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwaBqvvbah1y1OQ5kqdbt_a6KnwNEzlrGd9kg8JVwi0USqyb6Wst8rjRVF9ntCVyMyjQDshB6mP60KpOmkhK4NeVQ96V506tpz1aw13Ffj9S18uvS0pilM443Vuy1jQQYma0EbmQOY8VB/s1600/IMG_1819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwaBqvvbah1y1OQ5kqdbt_a6KnwNEzlrGd9kg8JVwi0USqyb6Wst8rjRVF9ntCVyMyjQDshB6mP60KpOmkhK4NeVQ96V506tpz1aw13Ffj9S18uvS0pilM443Vuy1jQQYma0EbmQOY8VB/s320/IMG_1819.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Venus, Venice beach style</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QtEvYSJtWSvr0trfkm3Q2OJ4ZiEpAAKjL9XG8p4rV1hdzQk2mDc-5u0cDNMG9XwRjtZuwwJ3PePtGrRoe9-vOBI0PQuUq5tgO_6f9-l07unQFOIwylDiMd4955FtWvPaAaD6qHNRL_eJ/s1600/IMG_1789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QtEvYSJtWSvr0trfkm3Q2OJ4ZiEpAAKjL9XG8p4rV1hdzQk2mDc-5u0cDNMG9XwRjtZuwwJ3PePtGrRoe9-vOBI0PQuUq5tgO_6f9-l07unQFOIwylDiMd4955FtWvPaAaD6qHNRL_eJ/s320/IMG_1789.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Queen Mary</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0Jj6Rwiho-UsCGYck7y-_b0rsRfd4Sq53c4qrhJgHhBbguG8DFyltmIbbpuQdwb3dyxtpFPXvsWVrky9HVENyZUypEokYSQAdtpsafM6N-8IC62pq3rO-pco2FQUOkuslWdaYKfD5tMl/s1600/IMG_1780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0Jj6Rwiho-UsCGYck7y-_b0rsRfd4Sq53c4qrhJgHhBbguG8DFyltmIbbpuQdwb3dyxtpFPXvsWVrky9HVENyZUypEokYSQAdtpsafM6N-8IC62pq3rO-pco2FQUOkuslWdaYKfD5tMl/s320/IMG_1780.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long Beach, beach...</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-63737587884398900212012-09-13T02:02:00.002+01:002012-09-13T02:02:41.145+01:00L.A. Day One.....ummmmm...Well, it's the end of our week in L.A. well technically we have been staying in San Jaquito and traveling in to L.A. but either which way, it's the end of our week here and it's been one of highs and lows.<br />
We had a list upon arrival of places we wanted to go and see, things we wanted to go and do, the list was broken down into days and it made for four days out, perfect, two days out, a day in, and another two days out, what a great way to break it down.<br />
<br />
Day one, Griffith park, The Hollywood sign, Griffith Observatory, Mullholand Drive, Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive. It sounds like alot but if you consider the last 4 are 'drive through' it's not that bad (You don't think I was going to stop on Rodeo Drive now do you?)<br />
Griffith Park, yes we appreciate it's there to service the greater L.A. community but, no, I wouldn't bother, it was whilst here we discovered that you can no longer get to the Hollywood sign, and the closest you can get is an hour and a half trek through the park... OK we will skip that.<br />
On to the observatory for some education and good views of L.A. It's a wonderful looking building and our first film location of the day, James Deans Rebel without a Cause and Charlie's Angels Full Throttle amongst others. The views of L.A. and the area were spectacular, and yes we could see the Hollywood sign, although it comes out quite small on the photo's it was a good view. Going through the observatory was interesting and took longer than we expected but it was well worth it <br />
The driving tour, this is where or impression of L.A. was cemented and was spoilt forever, the divide between those with and those without, Mullholland drive, one of the most expensive areas to live, at the bottom of the hill there is rubbish all over, boarded up shops etc. At the top of the hill, it's pristine, multi million dollar houses with big gates, a real case of have and have not, this theme continued to be re-enforced as we drive the rest of the route, taking us from one extreme to the other as we drove from one location to another, all in all this made the lavish areas we'd wanted to see less interesting knowing even more that there was the other end of the spectrum just a few blocks away. And so ended day one, all in all on a low.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIYn7wXOZ5dzSEvf3MWJphTh22YgAsUxV6dPg2ZFa8J1JCefSiha4U4YdmPNTWlEHcCtEFvSZpwIIBfcFqOdhLknuVLDIbESBDvKjMfJxQC1kSl41uH4R_w-BhcW57BoVPDpGAZX8W7lc/s1600/IMG_1750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIYn7wXOZ5dzSEvf3MWJphTh22YgAsUxV6dPg2ZFa8J1JCefSiha4U4YdmPNTWlEHcCtEFvSZpwIIBfcFqOdhLknuVLDIbESBDvKjMfJxQC1kSl41uH4R_w-BhcW57BoVPDpGAZX8W7lc/s320/IMG_1750.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Griffith Observatory</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtBa34FoxoVpU-Xajib-2cr5sm5FQNoO_Ubb2EdA6aM6rOZA07iwd6UOHXP5H2dqHvCWHAfBg2154Q6JYLtBnVVkN6reJyRARfFL0QVUhLMy31dvEivm4Di83OPWmeNqaaIC75l0oatIa/s1600/IMG_1755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtBa34FoxoVpU-Xajib-2cr5sm5FQNoO_Ubb2EdA6aM6rOZA07iwd6UOHXP5H2dqHvCWHAfBg2154Q6JYLtBnVVkN6reJyRARfFL0QVUhLMy31dvEivm4Di83OPWmeNqaaIC75l0oatIa/s320/IMG_1755.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thats LA that is</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZeTeYVXYa6adm9UKgmg8X4XQRb-0uWFEFMb6cGNfr1jnkc3m7JQXuUivywuPkN3zRbllbNQbkK_JU12Q1Aw6y0xCVy3BpoLLE0TePGtTZX8kqlqPSEQFsAp3zWHOHYMdO339SzCnuU_O/s1600/IMG_1744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZeTeYVXYa6adm9UKgmg8X4XQRb-0uWFEFMb6cGNfr1jnkc3m7JQXuUivywuPkN3zRbllbNQbkK_JU12Q1Aw6y0xCVy3BpoLLE0TePGtTZX8kqlqPSEQFsAp3zWHOHYMdO339SzCnuU_O/s320/IMG_1744.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thats us</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Vxq4-UWH_mf0Sg5GJGtZny42niESBr3mO4AvSH06G4eY-GHIEWO20YhfwWExJYL7euizoLIjpVFVMu1KewyH1CR5t-aiy4sLvuv9B9LYtp0AIGObeXqawvVikUT27XGdwq1mLQVnH-7X/s1600/IMG_1720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Vxq4-UWH_mf0Sg5GJGtZny42niESBr3mO4AvSH06G4eY-GHIEWO20YhfwWExJYL7euizoLIjpVFVMu1KewyH1CR5t-aiy4sLvuv9B9LYtp0AIGObeXqawvVikUT27XGdwq1mLQVnH-7X/s320/IMG_1720.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HOLLYWOOD</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-32886583689577070252012-09-04T01:29:00.001+01:002012-09-04T01:29:53.906+01:00Leaving Las VegasYes, it's been a month and it's come time to leave. We have both agreed however, a month is too long! Yes even in Las Vegas where there is a million and one things to do, a month is too long. Also, we are here to see America, not to sit in one place, we won't (don't plan to) be stopping anywhere more than a week from here on in.<br />
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Over the last few days we have finished ticking off the list of things to do.<br />
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On Friday we met up with one of Ali's friends, Julia, and her soon to be husband, Patrick, She's in the RAF out here, working and he's an actor (he does a good Jack Sparrow). We had lunch with them and then wandered about the strip, including a stop in margaretaville for an alcoholic drink with far too much alcohol for the middle of the day! We concluded the day sat in the saloon associated with our RV park having a few beers which was a perfect end to a good day.<br />
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On Saturday we did 'The Fremont Street Experience'. This is essentially in the 'old' las vegas, they have erected what is the worlds largest screen, above your head and running two city blocks! It's an awesome sight, on the top of every hour they put on a show, there's a video to show it off, words just wouldn't do it justice. In-between the shows there are street performers, some better than others, and two stages, one at each end near enough, with a live band on each, playing all night. It was truly and experience and one I'm glad we didn't miss.<br />
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Sunday was a relaxing day, we went out to one of the farmers markets which had been recommended, it was a bit of a bust and so not really worth the effort though I did get some really good beef jerky. We then went to get some grocery shopping from a whole food store we have come to enjoy shopping at, it makes a change from Walmart ( Think M&S v Kwik Save). They have tables at the front of the shop so you can sit and eat the fresh produce you have just bought, what a great idea, so we ate lunch there. The rest of the day was mooching round, visited a few more stores for bit's and bobs, nothing all that exciting.<br />
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Today, Monday, is get ready to move day, phone home, say hi, all is good, prepare the RV for hitting the road tomorrow, we plan on leaving early, say 8am, it's a 5 or more hour drive and I want to fill up with LPG before we leave Las Vegas.<br />
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Well thats it, this is us, leaving Las Vegas.<br />
<br />
/Adam<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkF9CVO_D1Ed31m9vWHETSsbwDEVCKhyUSHsimMU0w5po1dpvNwK_ZrkAvXhX5lqmLhmtfErnb1jzDPsTSOaK5MYeFgv2IGnsrXFRtyUqtugp8mvYbQzMO4J3SxVsoARdrZLTvAcOzOxgF/s1600/IMG_1670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkF9CVO_D1Ed31m9vWHETSsbwDEVCKhyUSHsimMU0w5po1dpvNwK_ZrkAvXhX5lqmLhmtfErnb1jzDPsTSOaK5MYeFgv2IGnsrXFRtyUqtugp8mvYbQzMO4J3SxVsoARdrZLTvAcOzOxgF/s320/IMG_1670.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Far, far too much alcohol for a lunchtime drink</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4be3Ew7Ud-zUgQqOjfTKUPmFMFdN3jQ4uk6Sy4nb0aVoAchB39zzbrBpSgxWs78hqjD8hr3UURku12sTReWIVlUbUcoEov5den_3IgL4bahCGEyLZ8i-5x9riLEeuYwO3RMKCX_dWAqAb/s1600/IMG_1683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4be3Ew7Ud-zUgQqOjfTKUPmFMFdN3jQ4uk6Sy4nb0aVoAchB39zzbrBpSgxWs78hqjD8hr3UURku12sTReWIVlUbUcoEov5den_3IgL4bahCGEyLZ8i-5x9riLEeuYwO3RMKCX_dWAqAb/s320/IMG_1683.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenny G's long lost brother (He was actually quite good)</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-54649580675772974142012-08-31T05:55:00.000+01:002012-08-31T06:04:39.734+01:00Just another film set!Everyone remembers Superman putting it back together, Unisols abseiling down it and of course the governments top secret storage facility housing Megatron!....NO?<br />
Well its the Hoover Dam to you mortals then.<br />
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When its not being blown up or hiding giant transforming robot baddies its one of the largest Hydropower generator in the USA. Saddling the mighty Colorado river it joins the borders of Nevada and Arizona and considering it was built in the 1930s its an awesome feet of engineering. Its vast, again the Americans dont do small, and has nearly a million visitors a year.<br />
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We started at the Hoover Dam bypass, opened in 2010. Just up from the dam it was constructed because the original two lane pass over the dam could not handle the 14000 vehicles a day it was getting. The new four lane bypass was to ease the congestion. A special pedestrian walkway was incorporated in to the new bridge to enable views of the dam, and they are amazing. as you are up above the dam the pics are wonderful and give you a perspective you wouldn't have otherwise had. You can still drive over the dam, which we did, and walk over it too, again, we did.<br />
The architecture is amazing. Art Deco 1930s brass and marble everywhere. Beautiful.<br />
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As it connects the states of Nevada and Arizona right in the centre of the dam is a plaque telling you just that, with an arrow one way pointing to Nevada and another pointing in the other direction, obviously, to Arizona. Now as both states have different "Time Zones" we had to do the quintessential "Time travel thingy"...<br />
Namely jumping from one state border to the other....Three o'clock, four o'clock,Three o'clock, four o'clock. ha... we got a few strange looks for that.......<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIqOLorCD8lVGrWW0nQaBKjxizZJaW7UuCR9SpqNh5LC6hFymPv-rDUPYV9MBJj70t-LFqhFDheawX55QABATAtjEhVydEMQiL-XHqD458gw_L5Ecbv3nYtgFzf6jQjsJMrCxvqpYjp_D/s1600/IMG_1588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIqOLorCD8lVGrWW0nQaBKjxizZJaW7UuCR9SpqNh5LC6hFymPv-rDUPYV9MBJj70t-LFqhFDheawX55QABATAtjEhVydEMQiL-XHqD458gw_L5Ecbv3nYtgFzf6jQjsJMrCxvqpYjp_D/s320/IMG_1588.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hows that for Hydropower.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thats a long way down.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New bypass.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the Guardians<br />
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When you think about it, its virtually time travel.</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-84995988906490398042012-08-28T22:36:00.000+01:002012-08-28T22:36:30.196+01:0020th Wedding AnniversaryWell yesterday was our 20th wedding anniversary, and the big reason for us not only doing this trip but being in Las Vegas for it. The plan, if you have been paying attention, was for us to renew our wedding vows, in full Vegas cheesy fashion, Elvis, <a href="http://www.gracelandchapel.com/" target="_blank">Graceland's wedding chapel</a>, the whole nine yards. Well, it didn't happen. No, don't panic, it was our choice. The chapel is on Las Vegas Boulevard, the same street we are living on, and so we have driven up and down it a few times, we spotted the place on a drive by and had a closer look the next time we went past, and with that the decision was made.<br />
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We were at a bit of a loss as to what to do now though. I came up with an idea, something to show our devotion to each other, and something truly Las Vegas. A tattoo, something to show twenty years, something to show us, Adam 'n Ali, twenty years, A'n'A 20, A20A, AXXA thats something how the thought process went anyways, stick it in a nice font, and both get it done, my first (I don't do pain) and one to add to Ali's collection. A trip to <a href="http://clubtattoo.com/" target="_blank">Club Tattoo</a> to speak to an artist and see what we could collectively come up with, and it was nice, organic, symmetrical, nice, and $150 each! for four letters! cough, splutter, not today thank you, I love you Ali but I'm not getting ripped off for you.<br />
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Ahhh now what.<br />
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So, in the old acronym, KISS , Keep It Simple Stupid. We'd seen a restaurant advertised, let's just go be silly, it's only once and it is spectacular, so we went to the <a href="http://www.stratospherehotel.com/" target="_blank">Stratosphere</a> Hotel and Casino, went up the tower, had a walk about and then went to the restaurant at the '<a href="http://www.stratospherehotel.com/Tower/Dining/Top-of-the-world" target="_blank">Top of the world</a>'. The dining area rotates so all the guests get to see the entire skyline which was awesome, but the food was equal to the view. We both had fish dishes, and were glad we had opted not to have starters, like any high end restaurant anything you wanted came separately and you were charged for separately, again we were glad we didn't, we were both stuffed after the fish, with hardly enough room for a pudding... Well you can't not have pudding. Needless to say, what with the view and the food it was a wonderful night and befitting a marker to 20 years together.<br />
<br />
/Adam<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the way up there</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4Fg44S_QrRRKNQKjMh7RUwOjv0z92ml8PJEtfLdKCkqppwjC9FpdrfSKxM5XR0ho0lFyemwDbEZ7z_YQoMwKFHqOjvQHbYNkJTgJTipAd-aA4_GaTOF6P5zaQh_uvlpk5wWUizP3-NVg/s1600/IMG_1565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4Fg44S_QrRRKNQKjMh7RUwOjv0z92ml8PJEtfLdKCkqppwjC9FpdrfSKxM5XR0ho0lFyemwDbEZ7z_YQoMwKFHqOjvQHbYNkJTgJTipAd-aA4_GaTOF6P5zaQh_uvlpk5wWUizP3-NVg/s320/IMG_1565.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look I can see our house from here</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The View from our table</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpK_v2c4orm7PiXyKL04G3asJj1eN7Vzn4xJSRXudnn4jxPJ-dkSonP_3SCzd9HkxMmrXpIbyqA_gchf0kNdH_RoJH_2hwvl-scd0bQfB51AeQmFo1r4y2hWlKZw4oVTup2S1BUsX2lj1/s1600/IMG_1571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpK_v2c4orm7PiXyKL04G3asJj1eN7Vzn4xJSRXudnn4jxPJ-dkSonP_3SCzd9HkxMmrXpIbyqA_gchf0kNdH_RoJH_2hwvl-scd0bQfB51AeQmFo1r4y2hWlKZw4oVTup2S1BUsX2lj1/s320/IMG_1571.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishy Dinner</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-35363993981219715592012-08-24T02:48:00.000+01:002012-08-24T02:48:12.067+01:005 hour round trip for a burger.Yet another of our special points on the map. As featured in many films but most memorably in "Independence Day" and most recently in "Paul" the "Little A'Le'Inn" cafe and bar was a must to visit. Sat right on the "Extraterrestrial Highway" to Rachel, Nevada, its a strange little place in the middle of absolutely no where. Population 98... yes thats 98 people. Its also known as "The UFO capital of the World".<br />
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As the closest town to the legendary "Area 51", a supposed test site for secret aircraft and UFO's, Rachel beckons to hundreds of conspiracy theorists every year. Its also home to the "Black Mailbox" which urban legend would have us believe is an unofficial mailbox for "Area 51".<br />
(The black mailbox however is actually white, and surely if it was a secret test sight they wouldn't have a mailbox on the main highway) ......just sayin....<br />
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Anyway, it was another day trip out. Again, a nice journey with brill scenery, Although it did rain most of the way.<br />
The cafe is tiny. A wooden shack on the side of the road. It has a pickup hauling a UFO across the car-park, which made us giggle, and paintings of aliens and UFO's everywhere. Outside the front door is a Time capsule left by the cast and crew of "Independence Day" in a huge concrete block which was pretty cool. Inside where posters, pictures, mugs, stickers and anything else you could think of to put an alien or spaceship on all over the walls and ceiling. An autographed picture and plaque from the cast and crew of "Paul" has pride of place on one wall. Pat, the owner wasn't around for us to meet unfortunately. We did ask. But she was tied up in the back office apparently.....now i think back i hope they didn't mean that literally....<br />
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We stayed for lunch "The Alien burger" it was actually pretty awesome as burgers go.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Extraterrestrial Highway</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How exactly do you clamp a spaceship?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Black Mailbox, yes i know its white...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5YavEAtvGjU6GgxASf9SeSjZCowNDE1ysy0eHl0cenYubk1FoDovQSybxvJoGBSUXxbJ7hAlneEdhJf_O0Tk0GEh8zIiQyhRika9p_rEZJ7er51cF7w7mbIodQD0P9LTVTnL_V4cfb4B/s1600/IMG_1498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5YavEAtvGjU6GgxASf9SeSjZCowNDE1ysy0eHl0cenYubk1FoDovQSybxvJoGBSUXxbJ7hAlneEdhJf_O0Tk0GEh8zIiQyhRika9p_rEZJ7er51cF7w7mbIodQD0P9LTVTnL_V4cfb4B/s320/IMG_1498.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Alien Burger...nom.</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-7647068216463236292012-08-17T19:03:00.001+01:002012-08-17T19:03:36.453+01:00Day trip.Although Las Vegas is classed as being on/near the Grand Canyon, what they actually mean is its the first major city near the fault line....what that means in real terms is that if you want to see the real Grand Canyon you gotta drive 5/6 hours in to the mountains to see it... Hense the day trip.<br />
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We set off at 8am. Nice and cool in the morning here, pretty pleasant in the car to be honest. I had also packed a picnic so we didn't have to buy lunch while we where out. So ham butties at the ready we where off to the "Grand Canyon" yey.<br />
<br />
The trip was pretty good really. We drove through some wonderful scenery. Thunder Mountains, is what the local indians call the San Andreas range. And its an awesome site. Vast mounds of rock pushed up out of the ground by the fault shifts. The pics i took show how the mountains look all on a tilt. Not built as a normal mountain up from the middle, but pushed up against each other at angles. it was brill.<br />
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Kaibab National forest boarders the canyon and again was a wonderful site. It goes on for miles and miles, just trees, trees and more trees, sounds a bit boring when you say it like that but it was not boring at all. It was a site to see. never seen so many trees...lol.<br />
As we got closer to the north rim of the canyon the trees started to change. They started to thin...not thin out, as in fewer trees. But actually get thin, it took us a second to work it out but we realised they had been burnt. The main trunk was left standing, for the most part, and where black, but there where no branches. This went on, again, for miles and miles. Some of the very tall trees had limbs and greenery at the very top and there where lush green bushes, plants and flowers on the floors, so it cant have been a recent fire. It was very eerie. (on return to the rig i googled the fire at the Kaibab forest. It was in 2006.)<br />
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We reached the Grand Canyon National Park, payed our $25...ouch....and drove up to the visitors centre. A drive to any side of the canyon was half a day away. We chose the North rim as it is supposed to be the prettiest side. Less comercial. It was.<br />
There was a large "Lodge" as a visitors center but it also acted as a reception for hiring out the log cabins in the surrounding area. But at $169 a night Adam would not let us stay....boo hiss.....<br />
There was the obligatory gift shop but it was very well stocked, from postcards and stickers for just a few cents to Native American carvings at Hundreds of dollars.<br />
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As for the "Grand Canyon" itself....well what can i say. Its name does not do it justice....<br />
Im making some surggestions to the National Park, "Fu##ing Mahoosive Awesomeness of a Crack in the Earth", "Gigantic Great Humungus Hole" what you think..<br />
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ok so maybe "THE GRAND CANYON" is enough......<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh my...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mad man.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Fu##ing mahoosive awesomeness of a crack in the earth"</td></tr>
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Dont forget to see all of the pics we took just click on the link on the left that says photos...<br />
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-7945795594454419332012-08-17T17:27:00.001+01:002012-08-17T17:59:11.224+01:00Still in Vegas....Ok so we have been a bit quiet the last week and a bit, we havent really done a lot. We have been back on the the strip a couple of times, more sightseeing and window shopping. We had the rig washed, he looks shiny and new now....well new for an old git, and we had a new slide out awning fitted. Thats basically what it sounds like. An awning fitted over the slide out to stop water and leaves and such from sitting on the slide out roof and damaging it.<br />
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As a result of my melt down earlier in the week (evidence on Facebook) and in fear of his life, Adam did take me to "The CSI Experience" this week...It was awesome. You go in, put on your "optional CSI vest (which Adam refused to wear) get given a clip board with your crime scene details on and get a briefing from the man himself Gil...yummy...well not really him, a video of him, but he looked right at me.... Then you are off to your crime scene.. Ours was called "Who got served?"<br />
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There was a dead body and everything, ok, it was a dummy, but it looked real. We had a dead woman in a maids outfit lying on the floor in an alley. We had to record as much as we could on our clipboards. There was no time limit, you just walked around gathering the evidence. it was very cool.<br />
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Once you where sure you had everything you then moved on the the lab. Most of the information was on the computers in the labs already, you just had to check that you had picked it all up at the scene. Her mobile phone with texts sent and received was in evidence so we could check who she spoke to before she died. She had a suspicious bag of "White powder" that had to be tested along with some lovely magots and flys found on her body at the autopsy.....yummy, and finally she had been run over so a mould was taken of the tyre marks to check against the DMV computers.<br />
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Your put your final findings in to a computer at the end to identify your suspect... if you get it right you pass, and we did....yey.<br />
Poor Penny was knocked off by...sorry no spoilers.<br />
But we got our baddie... see, the evidence never lies.......<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M&M World. The sweets not the singer...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My purchase. Look pink ones.....nom nom.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No you cant have it.....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who the hell is this?....</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-89090756694932691032012-08-08T10:02:00.004+01:002012-08-08T10:02:51.877+01:00Vegas baby!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Day one,<br />
Well technically it's day two as we arrived yesterday, but we didn't do anything, so today is day one.<br />
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We arose early due to the time change again, we are now 8 hours behind the UK so it's all getting a bit confusing. The site here has a pool and it was one of the things raved about in the reviews we read before deciding on this site, so this morning we were there, and it lived up to it's reviews. Now anyone who knows Ali knows she's not the best with water, but come the end of the time in the pool she was doing widths with a float!<br />
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After breakfast we wandered out to the main road and caught the bus into the north end of the strip, just outside of Treasure Island or ti as it's rebranded itself..... anyways, we then spent the next six hours walking round the strip, we gave up when we got to the MGM Grand there's more to see so we will have to go back and continue again, but not tomorrow as we are both knackered. Lunch was had at <a href="http://www.pampasusa.com/" target="_blank">Pampas</a> which is an all you can eat buffet with a twist, all the salad and 'stuff' is out for you to have as much as you want, but the meat is brought to your table. You have a tag with a red and a green side, green is feed me, red is I've had enough for now. Needless to say we ate well and it was real good.<br />
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When we got back to the RV it was hot, I'm not talking mildly warm I'm talking the wrong side of 100F. We (I) had elected to leave the Air Conditioning off all day (A mistake I now know) So to cool off we hit the pool again! and we sploshed about till the sun was almost down, it was a lovely way to finish off the day.<br />
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Day Two,<br />
A Lazy but expensive day! We went out to <a href="http://www.campingworld.com/stores/stores.cfm?store=118" target="_blank">Camping World</a> which is one of those big camping stores, it's a nationwide chain where you can buy everything from RV's to RV lightbulbs. anyway, we went because the awning / slide cover we have that covers our slide out is broken, the mechanism is all but shot and the material is ripped, so it's pretty much not doing what it's designed to do. Well we ordered a new one, and it's just a case of waiting for it to arrive then get it fitted. We did a bit of shopping too, normal household type stuff so nothing interesting, just a lazy expensive day.<br />
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Day Three,<br />
Today was a cheep fun day...back in the pool in the morning, which is bloomin lovely, and helps wake us up and then we spent the day in the rig, surfing, sorting out pics, calls to home, stuff like that. We had some dinner and then got our glad rags on for an evening on the strip. i have to say it was brill. The highlight for me was the fountains at the Balagio. Wonderful display to music. i got some video but it doesn't do it justice. The Volcano at the Mirage was pretty awesome too.<br />
The whole strip lit up is a sight. This place turns you in to a kid again.. its like the first time you see the turning on of the christmas lights, but bigger... Imagine Blackpool on acid...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6e39f12i8exTp2bQJ25x2PMNkyqV6qK_kQdWCHIuIcKVmsxHSW2gx6GuP5UBZIimOIg-rlj1lsBe47ytG6WePy2qrXC2q103h7sLs7ECbhjcLO1eT3Nl3u3JPm3bApU0sWH9Q0Y6Yq0pt/s1600/IMG_1304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6e39f12i8exTp2bQJ25x2PMNkyqV6qK_kQdWCHIuIcKVmsxHSW2gx6GuP5UBZIimOIg-rlj1lsBe47ytG6WePy2qrXC2q103h7sLs7ECbhjcLO1eT3Nl3u3JPm3bApU0sWH9Q0Y6Yq0pt/s320/IMG_1304.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The MGM from a walkway over the road</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New York, New York casino floor</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside the Balagio waiting for the fountains to start</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New York, New York<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-SAHrihU8FSj32s6MRf2ts55W_E0-wQRU5EV3gIYwMJes4tQ9VGOPJkJP5Y9ViNCfUxUv_S034_WDh7M-Z4iepWqazTheSE4vHi53XQYXCv7Bjm0gSjfbpyYYcuaY5c5W9VhsKGU5MZ1/s1600/IMG_1303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-SAHrihU8FSj32s6MRf2ts55W_E0-wQRU5EV3gIYwMJes4tQ9VGOPJkJP5Y9ViNCfUxUv_S034_WDh7M-Z4iepWqazTheSE4vHi53XQYXCv7Bjm0gSjfbpyYYcuaY5c5W9VhsKGU5MZ1/s320/IMG_1303.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excaliber </td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-80034595902088727352012-08-05T15:36:00.003+01:002012-08-05T15:36:23.559+01:00Impact...So the whole point of this trip was to see as much of America as possible and it became apparent very early on that there was a lot to see......<br />
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We had specific places and things we wanted to visit but we also knew there would be places we didnt know about. As we plotted our coures on our map, deciding on general direction heading towards large points of interest was easy and the only way to see what was in our path was to google everything. The phrases "things to do in" or "whats interesting near" have become a way of life in the Plevin rig.....<br />
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But this has become the best and most interesting way to travel here...it may have changed our direction a few times but then we wanted the real America and not just the tourist bits.<br />
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One of those interesting places was a place originally known as Diablo Pit by the locals. Namely the Navaho indians. The 1 mile wide, 570 feet deep crater was originally thought to be a gas vent or air bubble created by lava flow deep underground that had collapsed but turned out to be the first ever confirmed meteor crater.<br />
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Words cant describe this place. amazing, awesome, BIG.... na they dont do it justice.....<br />
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<a href="http://www.meteorcrater.com/" target="_blank">Meteor Crater.</a>Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444459287389372041.post-14494411187325307262012-08-02T07:05:00.000+01:002012-08-02T07:05:15.408+01:00The VLA...(very large array)Contact is one of our favourite films ever. We decided long before the flight tickets where bought that we would be visiting the VLA or very large array, which was featured in the film. Well, it didn't disappoint. For us it was a quintessential point in the USA we couldn't miss.<br />
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The VLA is the largest array of radio telescopes in the USA. 27 telescopes in a huge "Y" spread across the dessert. It may not be everyones cup of tea but we where in awe...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The array</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">say (very large array)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Display in visitors centre</td></tr>
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<br />Damskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957852909078611598noreply@blogger.com0