Monthly Archives: October 2008

“down through Missouri…”

I got an early start after a quick breakfast, and spent a long day at the wheel. I think I had underestimated the distance between St Louis and Tulsa, and it took most of the day to travel down through Missouri. I stopped in Joplin for lunch and to refuel, but only because it is […]

“Well it goes from St. Louis…”

I was up early this morning after another Walmart overnight, this time on the outskirts of St Louis. My new best friend, the Magellan GPS, took me straight to the CBS Y-98 radio studio, and I was live on air before 8am with Guy, Courtney and Jen. It was great fun, very chatty and light-hearted, […]

Goal number 12 has been inked into place!

The drive from Springfield out into Indiana took a bit longer than expected, and it was mid afternoon before I found my way to Ellettsville. The Magellan GPS did it’s job well, when I finally figured out how to use it, and I gave Josh a ring for final directions to his shop. Josh owns […]

“Well it winds from Chicago to LA…”

I set off from Chicago first thing on Monday morning to begin my Route 66 trip. I picked up the RV as early as I could, and attached the licence plates that I had received for it, and after a quick check-over, was ready to go. The first few miles in any secondhand vehicle are […]

Route 66 plans.

I imagine the majority of people will be most familiar with the Rolling Stones’ version of the song “(Get your kicks on) Route 66”, but it was actually written way back in 1946 by American song writer Bobby Troup, and recorded in the same year by Nat King Cole. Since then there has been over […]

Is there a doctor in the pub?

Chicago has been such a fun place, and I have had a great week here. I seem to have managed to fit so much in, and that is largely thanks to the wonderful city guides I have had here. On Friday I did the touristy thing, and went up to the observation deck at the […]

RV sorted out.

I went into the city again yesterday to take a look at some of the parts I had not seen yet. Millenium Park, between the city and the lake shore really is a lovely place, and the Cloud Gate, or the Bean as locals call it, is quite stunning. There is also a great outdoor […]

Chicago on a nicer day.

I seem to be making some progress here in Chicago. Yesterday I managed to open a bank account in my name, which was a bit tricky, but it now means that I can transfer funds from Australia in one larger sum, for one fee only, instead of drawing out smaller sums every other day, and […]

Welcome to the windy city.

After trying for some time to find an answer to my vehicular issues in Toronto, I finally gave up, and on Friday night caught the overnight Greyhound bus to Chicago. The trip was about 12 hours, but seemed to pass very quickly. I think I am now getting quite good at just zoning out for […]

Ontario frustrations!

Travelling is funny. Sometimes, everything just seems to go right, it all falls into place, and nothing affects you adversely. Then suddenly it can all change, and you are faced with a brick wall of problems that seem to have no solution. I am having some frustrations here in Toronto. I had considered all transport […]

Goal 11 achieved! Niagara Falls.

I arrived on the Greyhound bus in Toronto at about 10pm on Monday, and walked to the backpackers hostel in the city centre. Once booked in I made my bed quietly in the dark, there were already two people asleep in my room, and then went downstairs for a quick beer. The next morning I […]

The last supper.

Linda and her husband Brian had a family function to go to today, so Steve and Gina would look after me for the day. Was there anything I particularly wanted to see? As I have no idea what New Jersey has to offer other than Sopranos locations, we had a look through their New Jersey […]

The Sopranos Tour.

Linda lives in New Jersey, and offered to show me around, as well as help me get to Six Flags Great Adventure to ride the monster Kingda Ka rollercoaster. We emailed back and forth a few times, and I asked her about some of the locations in the TV series The Sopranos. For those of […]

Lady Liberty – goal number 9 achieved!

Stephanie emailed me a week or so ago about meeting in New York to come along when I went to see the Statue of Liberty. She is, or was, a New York local, she now lives in Conneticut, and she gave me a few tips on other things I might like to do while in […]

New York, New York.

Munich to New York was a pretty long day, especially with the four and a half hour long extra delay in Amsterdam, but I finally arrived at JFK airport late in the evening, and made my way as planned out Long Island. Lilly and I had emailed a couple of times after she very kindly […]

Eisriesenwelt.

We stayed last night in a great little hotel in Werfen, for less than half the price of a room in Munich, and this morning were up bright and early to head up into the mountains to see the ice caves at Eisriesenwelt – The World of the Ice Giants. Apparently, the cave system high […]

Where Eagles Dare!

One of my favourite movies is “Where Eagles Dare”. My father used to love old war movies, and we watched loads of them together when I was young. Some of these are still among my favourites, but “Where Eagles Dare” is definitely in my all-time top ten! It starts Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, and […]

More beer!

On Friday morning I had still not resolved my accomodation issues for Friday night, but the hotel I was staying at said that the broom cupboard room in the cellars was available again, and although a little expensive, I decided I would stay there, as i was meeting a few people throughout the day, and […]

Goal number 8 – Prost!

“Prost” is German for “Cheers”, and I have said it more than a few times today, as I achieved Goal Number 8, by attending the Oktoberfest in Munich. I arrived in Munich shortly after lunchtime, and soon found my way to my hotel, which was only a couple of minutes walk from the station. I […]

Friedrichshafen.

This morning I made my way across London to Stansted Airport to catch my flight to Germany. I had hoped to fly direct into Munich, but during Oktoberfest the flights seem to be ridiculously expensive. So after a bit of searching on the internet last week, I found a flight into Friedrichshafen with bargain-basement airline […]