2023 - Trip #10 - Brisbane to LAX

 It's been 4 years since we last ventured out of the country.  Trip number 10 was supposed to occur in April 2020......when I was supposed to see Pearl Jam at The Staple Centre in Los Angeles.  Thanks to Covid, this was cancelled 3 weeks prior to departure and I am almost positive that my shrieks and wailing could be heard as far away as Hades.  We have seen many big acts both in Australia and the USA, however my beloved Pearl Jam has always been snatched from my clutches.  Not this time!  The kindness of a lady in Florida has pretty much guaranteed that I will see them.  I say "pretty much" because they have had to cancel a few concerts due to illness (talk about dejavu!) however they seem to be back on track now; We will need to fly from LAX to Dallas Fort Worth,  pick up a rental car, will pick up my friend from Florida who is staying with her sister, and drive the hour or so to get to "Dickies Arena". Due to Texas being to the East of LA, I will enter another time zone and will need to attend the concert in the clothes that I wear on the plane.  The big surprise will be how I react when the guys come on stage.  My guess is cry, or scream, or faint. There is a fairly last possibility of me peeing my pants.  I may even attempt to "body surf" across the heads of other concert goers to get closer to the stage  however there would be a large possibility of Greenpeace arriving to drag me out to deeper water. That would be interesting given that Dallas Forthworth is landlocked... but stranger things have happened.  Keep an eye out for a NEWS Headline "Aging Australian Tubby Dwarf Sets New World Record in Stupidity".   Ahhhh it will be interesting as I will have the added bonus of being sleep deprived thanks to jet-lag. If I can fall asleep whilst sitting in the FRONT ROW during a show we saw (ok...I didn't see much) on Broadway in New York a few years ago, AND, allegedly fell asleep during an Ice Hockey match when taking Alyx to see her beloved Anaheim Ducks....then I guess I can fall asleep, or, do something stupid with being jet-lagged at a Pearl Jam concert.  I highly doubt this though!

Apart from the concert, we will be doing a few things that we have not done before or go to places that we have not been to before.  I do wish to somehow visit all 50 states in the USA.  Of course it's a given that I will be heading to my favourite places in the world, such as Walmart, Pet Smart, The Hobby Lobby, In and Out Burger, Bubba Gump.....just to name a few.  And then in a fortnight we shall find ourselves boarding a ship in San Francisco and will sail to Auckland via Hawaii, Tahiti, and American Samoa.  20 days of excellent food, some interesting (I use the term loosely) entertainment, a cocktail or two, and sailing half way around the world.  Mind you, whilst I have cruised several times, we have always been near land.  The idea of sailing where there is no land in sight has me a little apprehensive given that I had to watch "Titanic" 5,697 times (thank you Alyx - not) as she was growing up.  I figure there is the bonus of being nowhere near icebergs however if something were to happen, I do know that a shark would pick me as a decent sized meal before a lot of people.  Of course, there is always the chance that a pod of whales might welcome me.

It is currently 3.19am in the morning here.  This time tomorrow, we will be approaching the half way mark and will arrive in LA in the evening.  We will stay at a hotel near the airport, before going back there in the morning to head for Dallas Fort Worth.  I am sure I will have plenty to add when we are waiting at the airport, because as everyone knows......I am never short of things to say!

The Bears take on USA - Take 9 - 2019

On a cold, wet winters day in Toowoomba I find my mind wandering to where I will be in 24 hours.  Well I will nearly be there.  Yes!  The Bears are heading back to the USA for a 9th time.  Now I know that I have promised to complete my blog in full the last couple of times and have failed miserably.  This time it's a pinkie promise!  Given that we will not be on the road all day, time should allow me to do this.


So.…. around 12 hours from now we should be off the ground.  Although whilst it is guaranteed that the Bear will be on board...there is a rather large chance I will still be back at the place that my dogs will call home *sniff* for the next 3 weeks.  Why would I want to leave them on a cold, rainy winters day???  *sob*

*Thinks*


Ohhh that's right.  When I disembark at the other in...… I WILL BE BACK IN SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!

2018 - USA Trip 7 - T Minus 8 sleeps!

So folks, after not going anywhere last year, we have decided to hit the road (ok......hit the air) again and head back to the USA.   Trip number 7.  One would think that we only thought that there was one other country to visit, but of course that would be stupid to think.  It's the damned airline that thinks that there is only one vacation location!!

This time, there will be a difference however.  A woeful tale of hardship  where I expect to receive the maximum amount of sympathy and understanding by all and sundry.  This time.........we are.......(I can barely say the words).......not travelling business class.   We are flying Premium Economy.   The nightmare of all nightmares.  Thank God its not normal economy as I would be requesting to sit on the wing or cargo hold.   I will  have to take a decent cup full of cement and hard the hell up!  It will be almost hell on earth however, please do not worry dear friends.  I will find some way to cope in order to be able to report back of our goings on to each and every one of the 4 or 5 people that follow my blog.

I will attempt to actually finish this trips entries.  For those that don't remember, the last couple were not completed due to near fatal injuries received by the Bear and myself thanks to crazy octogenarians with their kamikaze Zimmer frames, wheel chairs and walking sticks.   It's a complete miracle we are still alive.

So hang five people and count the days down with me, until the Bear and I step out of the country for yet another time.  Lord knows what can happen, WILL happen.  I promise you all you will be the first to know about it!

2016 Trip - Days 10 to 19 - We lost the laptop!!

So….this bright pair left the laptop behind in one of their stops.  I have been able to retrieve it in Houston but it means my blog is a week or more behind.  I could try to catch it up, or I could just write my notes to cover that time.   My notes may not make a great deal of sense....but make of them what you will.  I will pick up the blog on a daily basis there after!

 

Thursday 10 March

• Seattle, Washington ----à  Vancouver, British Columbia
• Gorgeous fir trees up to the border
• Border crossing stunning.  Green, clean and picturesque
• Just over the border = WTF??????  I thought Canada was meant to be pretty?  They sucked us in at the border.
• GPS stopped working at the border.  Why am I surprised?
• Vancouver.  Bloody hell.  *facepalm*
• Drivers are RUDE!
• What is the crime rate here?  If it can be judged by the gum on the footpath, we may not get out alive.
• F**k me.  Our hotel = the Alamo. (There is about a zillion Mexicans staying here)
• The said Mexicans totally have over run the hotel and had there kids running through-out the halls at night.  Screaming.
• I screamed back.
• Stop damned raining already!
• Crikies who said Vancouver was nice?
• What the hell are those lights flashing for?
• Petrol price same as at home.  Take me back to the USA!
• Ok…what is Poutine?
• Right….I seriously love Poutine. Canada has one positive.

 

Friday 11 March

• Vancouver ----à  Whistler
• Nancy Reagans funeral today
• Shops sell medicinal pot in Vancouver.  Why am I not surprised?
• How many street signs do Canadians need on any one road?
• I need comfort food.  I need Poutine.
• North of Vancouver.  Better looking landscape…not that it would be hard.
• More signs.  Good lord.  How can these be read AND have your eyes stay on the road?
• This explains why the people cannot drive here
• Is there really any point to having a speed limit?
• Cold.  Frigging cold.
• Whistler quite pretty.  Not what I expected…but pretty.
• What is catskiing?  Or do I not want to know?
• Snow…..again.
• Had Poutine.
• Traffic congested trying to get back.  Why?  They have 4 lanes merging into 2 at peak hour…..in the rain…..on a Friday.
• Hail storm Canadian style.  The smallest hail I have ever seen.  Clouds didn’t indicate hail.  Just weird.

 

Saturday 12 March.

• B and I sat on the bed…and the bed tipped us off.  What does this say?  Vancouver sucks….and need more Poutine!
• Do not walk into a unisex toilet unless you want all and sundry looking at you as though you are a trannie.
• Am I a trannie?
• Canadian Museum of Flight.  Sad.  They don’t look after the planes.
• What is the “Roots Outlet” or don’t I wanna know?
• I need more Poutine.
• Will we ever see the sun again?
• Will we ever be warm again.   Bring on Jamaica.
• In fact….bring on the USA border.
• Did I mention I hate Vancouver?

 

Sunday 13 March

• Vancouver ----à  Seattle
• Daylight Savings began
• So why make a toilet that has the toilet paper dispenser jutting out over the loo?
• *sat sideways on a loo that has the toilet paper dispenser jutting out*
• Had the automatic toilet flush, whilst moving to get paper from the toilet paper dispenser that was jutting out over the loo (and therefore prevented me from sitting straight on the toilet!)
• Needed to get the toilet to flush again after it automatically flushed prematurely.  See above.
• Failed in getting the automatic toilets to flush again to flush the paper.
• Intersections have lights going one way and stop signs facing the other.  Seriously….should I really be surprised?
• The USA border.  THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!
• I don’t think they sell Poutine in the USA.  That sucks.

 

Monday 14 March

• Seattle ----à  Houston. 
• Two people in the seats behind us on the plane having the strangest conversation before we departed much to my horror.  It turns out they were both on their phones whilst still on the tarmac.  Example:

Her:  Hey!  How are you?

Him:  Well that’s f**ked in the head!

Her:  Oh I will be back soon! I promise.

Him:  Not unless her boyfriend is doing her Mother.

Her:  I love you forever.

Him:  F**k no!

 

• Houston.  HUGE airport with the tiniest shuttle trains.
• Finally it is hot.  Stripping off layers of clothes in the airport
• 2 people + 6 suitcases + camera bag + laptop bag + handbag + tiniest train carriage = multiple bruises and potential broken limbs
• Hotel is round.  I have lapped it 100 times without realising just looking for a drink machine. Doh!
• Left laptop behind.

 Tuesday 15 March

• Houston ---à  Dallas
• Oh my God…..its worse than Vancouver.  Ugly!!
• These people LOVE their cows/bulls/anything with a horn
• Cow print lounges; cows heads; longhorns; pictures of cows/bulls etc.  No other theme in this town
• Found another theme.  The JFK assassination.  I am surprised they haven’t painted bulls horns on him in all of the paraphernalia.
• So the hotel room doorway next to ours has multiple lots of toilet paper hanging from the doorway.  What the hell?
• This hotel room is making me itch
• Lots of “southern” black people.  They are different from the African/American ones.   
• JFK memorial.  Cross on the road where he was shot.  The site is WAY smaller than I would have expected. Extreme sadness here. Seriously…..

 

Wednesday 16 March

 

• Dallas --à  Austin
• Nicer place than Dallas
• Massive road works in Texas. Incredible overpasses etc. Impressive.
• I hope there is no earthquake whilst we are stuck under one of the said overpasses.
• Cops wear cowboy hats.  Seriously.
• Hotel = lovely except the loo has a glass door.  You have GOT to be joking.
• Opposite the glass door in the loo, is a floor length mirror.  Bloody hell.  Perverts.
• Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner.  More horns.   And no….I couldn’t cut my steak with a spoon as advertised.
• Signs advertising attorneys are EVERYWHERE (probably because this state has the death penalty).  All signs have ABOGADOS on them also, which is Spanish for Attorney.  Use your imagination.  This is quite appropriate.
• Bail bond offices are on every corner.  Cool!

 

Thursday 17 March

• Austin -à San Antonio
• Went through Waco on the way. It is lovely.  NOTHING like I expected.
• Hotel = nice but the walls in each lift look like they are made out of a mans scrotum.  I will not describe this.
• I seriously don’t want to go in the lifts.
• Went in the lift.  Stared at my feet.
• Went in the lift again.  Stared at the ceiling.
• Went in the lift again.  Needed to touch the wall to see if there is any texture to it.  It does.
• I definitely don’t want to go in the lift again.
• River Walk is lovely.  It would be nicer on a completely fine day though.  Mind you it’s not raining at present.  Win!
• The Texans have made the River Walk water green for St Patricks Day.  It looks disgusting.
• A pterodactyl shit on my hand. My God!
• A passing lady saw the green crap on my hand and offered me a lens cleaning wipe as there is nowhere yet to wash my hands.  I am forever in her debt.  
• We are two Australians, in the USA, eating Italian food for lunch, whilst listening to a Mexican Mariachi Band on St Patricks Day.  We have our multicultural shoes on.
• Visited the Alamo.  Sobering.
• Religious nuts have set up outside the Alamo, holding signs that say that “God is angry with us” and a whole lot of other gibberish.  Righto.
• Taco Bell.  Cheap and NASTY!
• People….stop your kids from SCREAMING!

Friday 18 March

• San Antonio -à  Houston
• We are SICK of driving.
• Lost my glasses as well as the laptop. Good work Donna!
• Get laptop back.
• Ok….what is “Chicken Fried Steak”?
• Found out “Chicken Fried Steak” is simply ground beef that is fried like chicken.  So really…..it has nothing to do with chicken.
• Went to China Grove (as in the place that the Doobie Bros sing about) which was a bucket list thing of mine.  It turns out…that I should have stayed with the image that I had always had in my head.  There are no words.
• This city is HUGE

 

Saturday 19 March

 

• Houston we have a problem.  It has turned freezing and its raining again.  Bloody hell! 
• NASA.  Pretty much the same as Cape Canaveral really.   The 747 with the shuttle on top was pretty cool though.
• Applebees for lunch.  FINALLY an excellent steak.
• Went to a store called the “Hobby Lobby”.  Huge mistake.  Wanted to buy the whole store.  Asked the checkout chick whether they have a website?  Yes they do.  Let’s hope they post to Australia.
• 11.30pm tonight marked the official start to the American Spring. How does that work??
• Board cruise tomorrow.  Thank heavens.  No more driving.

 

2016 Trip - Day 10 - Sleepless in Seattle

Ok....not sleepless in Seattle.   I just wanted to say it somewhere.

Today was another cold, wet day in Seattle.    Nothing really detracts from this city though.  I still think it’s just gorgeous.

Today is our last full day in Seattle which really is a shame.  There is still so much we would like to do here so we went full tilt doing as much as we could. I might just point out that we are fortunate that we are not on the same block as a massive explosion that rocked the city in the early hours.  A natural gas leak almost cost a number of firemen their lives.  It sure blew a couple of businesses clean off the map.

First up today we visited the Pike Street Markets at the recommendation of one of the Bears friends.    What an amazing place.  Floors and floors of eccentric little stores with every possible thing you could thing of to buy.  There were fresh food markets, fresh flowers of every brilliant colour (how they grow in this cold weather is beyond me), and countless things of interest.    If you ever couldn’t think of something to buy a loved one, this place would give you inspiration.   The markets conveniently (for me….not for the Bear) had a store which sold every “dog”.  This store was made for every person just like me who is so in love with their dogs that they are prepared to spend an obscene amount of money on the absolute ridiculous just so that they can promote our “l” word.  I call it “love”…..the Bear calls it “lunacy”.   It is almost as awesome as PetSmart.  I managed to keep  my spending down to a dull roar….and my end total included some gifts for my nearly equally obsessed Mother in Law (who is doggy sitting as we speak).

After the Pike Street Markets (where we simply did not have enough time!) we decided to go back to the Boeing Store…via the Moore Theatre.  What is the Moore Theatre?  It is where Pearl Jams “Even Flow” video clip was filmed.  It would have to be one of their top three most played songs. (And for those that don’t know/care, the song is about a homeless man.  You wouldn’t expect that from a grunge band eh?)  It’s not that I would be able to go in there and kiss the stage; its just that such “greatness” had been there.    In the traffic, and the rain, we managed to find the said holy place at which point I was able to enjoy and photograph it for approximately 3.5 seconds (ok…while we were at a red light) before we were on our way.

We made our planned stop at the Boeing Store before heading onto yet another Wal-Mart.  One might think of my Wal-Mart obsession as being unhealthy, but given that we purchase supplies there for a tenth of the cost of a restaurant it makes perfect sense.  We often have a Wal-Mart salad instead of eating out (the same as we do every trip) or a frozen meal should our hotel room have a microwave.   Today’s Wal-Mart visit however was not for this.  It was for first aid supplies….in particular Betadine.

On our very first night in the USA, whilst staying in L.A I received some sort of bite on the little finger on my left hand.  It hurt right from the word go and had managed to fester and become infected over the past 9 days.   I had already purchased some anti-biotic ointment however it doesn’t appear to be working.  My finger is swelling, throbbing, and turning a terrible shade of red.   I wanted to get something that I was familiar with using from home hence my shopping for Betadine.  As it turned our, Wal-mart didn’t have any.  We were not sure whether they simply didn’t stock it or had sold out of it, but we were not about to zip around to a thousand pharmacies to find it.  I showed the Bear a bottle of colourless iodine which claimed to have antibacterial properties for First Aid purposes.  The Bear said that would do as that is what he remembered as a child.

After I had a shower this afternoon, I decided I would dab some of the iodine onto my finger before bandaging it back up.  I undid the seal on the bottle and then the lid however there was a ridiculously strong scent of bleach.  I took a sniff of the bottle and my eyes watered.  Grabbing my glasses I read the impossibly small print on the side of the bottle, and sure enough it was meant for first aid purposes.  I was confused by this so went and gave it to the Bear to smell….which he did……before telling me it was exactly how he remembered it smelling.   I told him that the only time I had smelled anything like that was when I was soaking my children’s nappies or having my hair permed!  He assured me it was ok and after doing a quick Google search to confirm I was doing the right thing, went back into the bathroom and applied the clear yet disgusting smelling liquid.

Somewhere in the distance I could hear a Curlew screaming.  Did they even have Curlews in the USA?  And where the hell did that dust come from?  Once the dust settled it was clear my head was in the ceiling and my little finger was on fire.  WHAT THE F**KING HELL WAS IN THAT BOTTLE!!!!!!!!!!!  Apparently I was still screaming because the Bear came running.   He might have thought that because I didn’t bear his children he would never have me swear at him in pain.  Bullshit!  I was holding him personally responsible for the fact that my pinkie had now fallen off!  Jesus H Christ!!!  This $3.95 bottle of acid was on the verge of costing us $497 for a broken mirror, and a $10,000 swear jar bill with the cost escalating by the second.  Bloody hell!!!!!!!!!  The Bear hurriedly stammered that it might hurt but it was doing the very best thing for the infection in my finger.    Well that’s what I thought he said……I was still slamming my hand against the marble vanity basin to douse the flames…so couldn’t be sure.  Not that I cared.  I wasn’t putting that shit near my hand again.   Well not until the next time anyway.  Given the infection in my finger…..and given that the last time we were in the USA I had to go to the hospital and it cost us more than $1000 (which could NOT be claimed on travel insurance) I seriously wasn’t game not to do what I could to settle things.

*sigh*

2016 Trip - Day 9 - A little bit of Bavaria in the USA

This is just a short diary entry, and one that I have made without the usual humour.  My delight in experiencing my first white Christmas (in March) in a little German town was far too amazing to be wrecked with my usual waffle.   On this occasion I realise just how awesome it is….to dream a little dream…if but for a moment J

Today we head inland from Seattle, and travelled a couple of hours through the Washington Alps to visit Leavenworth – a piece of Bavaria in the USA.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect but the whole day was just amazing.

I have already fallen in love with Seattle and Washington State but what a treat we had in store.  We had already established that we would try to go to Leavenworth when we were planning our trip, but after having a conversation with our Vet who is originally from Seattle; it was a dead set certainty.  He had explained that the road up to there via “Stevens Pass” and “Mount Index” was just beautiful and highly recommended.  That was good enough for us.

Heading out of Seattle it became apparent early on that the scenery would be breathtaking.   It was fairly evident that the Alps still had plenty of snow on them, and despite the fact that I swore on the 2014 trip that I never wanted to ever see snow again, found myself excited that we might be going to see a little bit up close again.  The snow in New York and Washington D.C was dirty and often dangerous.  The snow on these Alps was a very bright white and simply stunning.  As we started our climb through the mountains, we found that every bend in the road was prettier than the one before.  It was quite a steep and winding road which would normally scare the baageeeeezus out of me however the scenery was just so beautiful it proved to be an awesome distraction.   There were never ending rivers and streams that were overflowing from the Spring thaw.  Random waterfalls appeared along the side of the roadside where the melting snow (at lower levels) had nowhere else to run.

What I wasn’t prepared for, was the very thick snow that was still blanketing the ski-fields through “Stevens Pass”.  It turned an already beautiful country side into a Winter Wonderland.  We pulled in to a car park opposite the ski resort, just to have a little bit of a walk around in the snow.  There was nothing dirty or dangerous about this.  It was light and powdery and an amazingly brilliant white.  The Bear threw a few snowballs and I ate a bit of snow (yes I am a weirdo) and we set off again towards Leavenworth.

Wow…what a surprise.    I have not ever been to Germany, but this is exactly what I have always pictured in my head.   This was a small town nestled between the mountains that was made up of little Bavarian buildings and chalets.  The snow capped mountains that surrounded the small community completed the Winter Wonderland.  Amazingly the on street parking was free which seriously astounded me.   The stores through the main street where all for tourists benefit however I assume that is the whole purpose of this town.  A shop keeper that we spoke to said that the council require each building to comply with specific requirements to maintain this Bavarian appearance and they are not allowed to alter from this at all.

I was interested to see that there were still Christmas trees and Christmas decorations displayed. I was curious as to whether this was a requirement also.   I didn’t ask though because I didn’t want to spoil what we were seeing.  I was afraid that if we knew that the Christmas adornments were compulsory that it would have spoiled things.   Just for a little while I could pretend that we were experiencing a white Christmas.

We checked out all of the menus so that we could try to decide where to eat.  Of course, most of the menus were of German cuisine although there were some typical yankie meals on there also.  The Bear was looking in particular for some place that had “Schweinshaxe” (Pigs Knuckle) on their menu.  He didn’t want one, however figured if they had it on their menu, they were the real deal.  King Ludwigs restaurant served this dish so this is where we ate.    The Bear had a schnitzel and I had some goulash, both which were served with pickled red cabbage and Spaetzle (German pasta) all of which was absolutely delicious.  Well most of it was.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the pickled red cabbage.  When I was putting it in my mouth, it was taking my breath away – a bit like when you inhale when smelling vinegar.

We had a browse through the stores on the way back to the car.  They were not particularly cheap but we were not there to shop.  It was just delightful looking before making our way back to Seattle.   We always like to pick up a fridge magnet from places that we go to (although this is becoming a bit ridiculous.  After 5 trips, we need a bigger fridge!) and a Christmas decoration if possible.  That was definitely not an issue in Leavenworth.

As I said this is only a short entry.  The day was too precious to wreck it with rubbish. I will write my usual baloney tomorrow.

 

2016 Trip - Day 8 - Eddie....We're Here!

This is our first full day in Seattle.  What an absolutely amazing city!  It is absolutely stunning.  We are staying in the suburb of Redmond, which is not within the CBD area and it is just gorgeous.  The whole of Seattle is just lovely though.  Quaint. Polite. Clean. I would live here even if Eddie Vedder didn’t.   That is a huge compliment coming from someone who hates metropolitan cities.

First up today we went to The Museum of Flight at Boeing Field.  This has been on the Bears bucket list since puppy was a kitten and probably that of every Boeing pilot. This is place which currently houses the very first 727 off the production line, the first 747, a Concorde, one of the past Airforce One jets, just to mention a few.    It has a collection of gorgeous war birds which would make even the most anti-aircraft women drool.  Unfortunately we had to be there on the couple of days that the 747/Airforce One/Concorde etc could not be accessed to hop on board.  The Bear had to settle for looking at them from a small distance, rather than get up close and personal with them.  I felt for him as he was bitterly disappointed.  We had come a very long way for him to visit the museum and it was bittersweet that we could not do completely what he had dreamed of doing.  He sucked it up though and made the best of what he could.  Interestingly when we paid for our entry, the cashier asked if we had a Boeing staff discount card. The Bear explained no, and that we were from Australia.  The cashier then asked if we were a member of something like RACV, NRMA, RACQ.  Well suck me sideways.  I have never been asked in Australia whether we are members of RACQ let alone overseas.  We couldn’t believe it!  Producing an RACQ card, we received a discount.

 

Always the supportive wife, I decided to throw myself into things and get with the program.  As hard as I have tried over the years to learn what I can about aviation and its industry, I apparently don’t absorb the information like a sponge.  I can nod and smile about what the Bear is trying to teach me, and I try to retain it, but I have nothing to convert it into my own language.  So when the opportunity arises where I can participate in something aviation….I am there with bells on!

Walking through the museum there were a couple of cockpits (soooo many lines here….but my Mother reads it) from old fighter jets on display with their canopies open, and an invitation to sit in them.    This would entail stepping down onto their impossibly small seats, and slide ones legs through two holes in perspex underneath the dashboard.  (Pardon my lack of technical jargon here.  I seriously have no idea what I am talking about).  I sidled up to the F18 Hornet cockpit and asked the Bear if he was going to hop in.  Apparently it was too warm for hell to have frozen over. He felt he would not fit.    I viewed the available space in the cockpit and did a bit of math in my head using height/width/depth/area/space and the answer = BIIKOWTH (Buggered If I Know Oh What The Hell).  I climbed down into the cockpit….ok I slid…ok….I fell….and took up my position as a US Fighter Pilot. 

Sitting there I could safely say “been there done that” and decided to hop out….or so I thought.  Apparently I was fairly stuck.  Ok…stuck fast.   Ok….was fairly wedged up shit creek without a block and tackle.    The Bear was looking at some nearby aeroplanes whilst a line of impatient children-come-wanna-be-pilots grew waiting for me to hop out.   Even with the threat of a hundred international news headlines hanging over my head, I could not get up.    I figured the only chance that I had to get out of this without shattering my pelvis was to recreate my own birth.  I mean how hard could it be?  I was there….I did it once….I could do it again!   I would have liked a set of forceps to come down and assist with my rebirth, but that was never going to happen.  Fortunately the Bear eventually saw my struggle and he reached down and helped me out.   I was able to move aside to let the next budding pilot to take the chair....with my dignity in tact. Almost.

After the Bear had seen enough, it was time to head to Eddies house.  I knew the address and I knew what it looked like.  We had to leave it up to the GPS to get us there.  I knew he lived at the end of a cul-de-sac however had no idea what the surrounding suburb or street looked like.    I was THAT FREAKING EXCITED!!!  What would I do if he was outside?  Would I say hello?  Would I throw myself at him?  Would I propose? MY GOD!!!!!!!!!  I should have started that diet a year ago.  Heavens I didn’t even have make up on!   As we were getting closer I noted that the area was very modest with unassuming homes.  No arrogance or obvious wealth.  I knew he had a big house however I felt that he bought it based on its location.  He has no pretentiousness about him and it was clear that there was no “showing off” with where he had bought.  Following the GPS we had to negotiate an “s-bend” that was almost a 180 degree tight turn and all of a sudden I was there.  Angels sang and there was the end of the rainbow. His house lay before me at the end of the street.  The reason he bought this home was for the privacy and the fact that it overlooked the waters of Puget Sound.   No-one would find him here and disturb his peace.  Well no-one other than myself and some whack-job who deliberately crashed their car into his fence a number of years ago.  I wondered if our rental car had insurance?

We drove right up to his gate.  I could see a vase that contained fresh flowers in a window on the second story.  I recognised his circular windows that have been i the background when doing interviews in his home. There was a PIN pad and intercom on the door leading through the large brick fence.  Both the fence and wrought iron electric gate had sharp objects on top to deter any other whack-jobs from jumping over the fence.  I started mentally calculating the height versus my short stature and decided it had a small chance of failing so was overcome with an overwhelming urge to press the damned buzzer.  I wasn’t out of the car yet, and nor was the Bear going to let me.  He broke into a sweat concerned that the neighbourhood watch supporters would report us as being suspicious and that we would in fact be arrested.  What a damned good idea…I hadn’t thought of that.  If I were to be arrested out the front of Eddie’s house, I would be forever tied to him in some way.    My poor suffering husband put his foot down and I was not allowed out of the car…and with that he turned the car around.  Desperate......I begged to have my photo taken in front of Eddie’s house, even if it were further down the street.  Something…..for me to hang onto and to show I had been there.  He relented and told me to make it quick.  I was out of that car before he could change his mind….and with both thumbs up; the Bear snapped a photo that I will treasure for always.    With that……we left the street as quickly as we had arrived.  *sigh* #lovemyeddiev #pjrockmyworld  #imnostalkerimjustafan

 

Given that the rain earlier had cleared somewhat, we thought we might visit the Space Needle on the way back to the hotel.  If you come to Seattle….you apparently must go to the Space Needle.  It is an icon on the Seattle skyline and whilst I had no real concept of its purpose, was keen to go there.  The Space Needle was not as tall as I had expected it to be and I still failed to learn of what its purpose was…but while we were there, we needed to go up it. 605 feet tall (with the observation deck being at 520 feet) its completion in 1962 made it the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.  This feat took only 400 days and was constructed as part of the World Fair in 1962 when the theme was “Century 21”.  This icon was built to withstand a 9.0 earthquake and to wind gusting at 200 miles per hour.   There is two ways up to the observation deck – in a glass lift which takes 41 seconds to go to the top, or climb up the 848 steps.  If it wasn’t for the limp I had gained since being stuck in the F18 I would have taken the stairs *rolls eyes* so had to settle for the lift.  The Bear panicked.

My husband is the only pilot that I know (ok…I only know one) that is scared of heights.   I have no issue with heights or flying, but he hates darned heights.  While I eagerly looked through the glass doors whilst the lift shot skywards at 800 feet per minute, the Bear started praying to whoever would listen.   I felt a sense of déjàvu remembering his antics when we went up the Empire State Building.   The block and tackle I wished I had have had at the Flight Museum was required to pull him out of the lift. Hopping out onto the viewing platform at the top we had a 360 degree view of Seattle and Puget Sound which was just stunning.  It was just about as cold as it was at the top of the Empire State Building but in my opinion was far more stunning.   The Bear hung on to the edge of the wall with his knuckles turning white, and I thought it was time that I took the poor fellow down.

Just as a footnote here:  I have two things I would like to mention having come across today.  Petrol here is around $2.11 a gallon which equates to approx 60 cents a litre.  Also…on our way back to the hotel we stopped at a Safeway Supermarket where we were served by a young man named Forrest.  Unbeknownst to each other, the Bear and I both had to bite our lips to prevent ourselves from saying “Run Forrest Run”.  Of course the poor lad was probably sick of the “Life is like a box of chocolates” spiel.  It was tempting though.

We had such a full day having achieved several things that we wanted to do.  I could live in this city.  It is just awesome.   Tomorrow we are heading out of town a bit to visit Leavenworth – a German Town within the USA.  Excited!