Thread: Ramblings From The USA - 1

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Originally Posted by rspears

It's a bit late to be mentioning it at this point, but since you're all family an alternative to booking two rooms at every stop might be to move up to something like Comfort Inn & Suites, and book a suite that has a separate bedroom with a sleeper couch out in the common area, along with a bit more of a kitchenette. Might not save much in total cost if you're saying that the Quality Inn was twice the cost of what you've been paying. Just a thought, and this is after I had the experience of paying more than 2X normal rates in Ottawa, $140/night all in with a two night minimum just because they knew they could get it for the big car show weekend.... I'm still fuming a bit with that turn.

Yeah...but his snoring would still keep us awake, we're better off in separate rooms. If you heard him you'd agree.

And I hear you on being charged a premium. I get rather septic over that sort of attitude.

Side cutters= fingernail clippers? Funny stuff. I'll never forget my British friend saying loadly to me during a Science Exam, "Steve do you have a rubber? Can I use your rubber?" I turned bright red as most of the people in the lab room started laughing! (It took a minute to figure out he needed an eraser, not a condom!
Don't even get me started when I told my British girl friend one summer, who was working with me for an adventure travel company, to get a fanny pack in town to manage her reciepts for the trip. I guess they don't call waist packs fanny packs in the U.K. By the expression on all of the Brits faces, figured that one out too!

Ya have got me scratching my gead, trying to remember.... maybe it was the Aussie troops that had such a colorful (to we Americans) word for a cigarette, I don't think I can post it here!

Originally Posted by stovens

Side cutters= fingernail clippers? Funny stuff. I'll never forget my British friend saying loadly to me during a Science Exam, "Steve do you have a rubber? Can I use your rubber?" I turned bright red as most of the people in the lab room started laughing! (It took a minute to figure out he needed an eraser, not a condom!
Don't even get me started when I told my British girl friend one summer, who was working with me for an adventure travel company, to get a fanny pack in town to manage her reciepts for the trip. I guess they don't call waist packs fanny packs in the U.K. By the expression on all of the Brits faces, figured that one out too!

Yep.
Side-cutters; far superior to conventional nail clippers.
These are what I bought: Master Mechanic 140947 Diagonal Cutting Pliers 5-1/2 in.

And as for mentioning 'fanny pack'! Crikey mate; that's akin to asking for a punch in the head!
Definite no-no!

As Roger pointed out there are many anomalies in our respective vernacular slang, f'rinstance: when your cheerleaders say that they root for such-and-such a team, my response would be: "Not all of them at the same time I would hope!"
Our slang word 'root' is derived from 'rut': 1: an annually recurrent state of sexual excitement in the male deer; broadly : sexual excitement in a mammal especially when periodic...etc.

So I would get an entirely different meaning from that which is intended.
It's easy to get tires wangled.

In 62 when I started electronics school in the Corps "side cutters" were referred to as dykes and that's what I've always called them.

Just snuck in here during work hours.. It was wonderful to spend even a short time with JB, Rosie and Rick.. I had so many things I wanted to do while you were here but just no TIME! But even though the time was short it was oh so pleasant! I think You and I JB 'could've spent a couple days comparing notes and still not reach the end of that list.

Until we meet again, Thanks for making time for Chris and I !!

Originally Posted by johnboy

Yep.
And as for mentioning 'fanny pack'! Crikey mate; that's akin to asking for a punch in the head!
Definite no-no!

For anyone still wondering, simply Google "fanny british slang", and it's quite easy to see why telling an English Lass to run by and get a fanny pack would not be taken kindly....

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

"side cutters" were referred to as dykes and that's what I've always called them.

Thats what we call 'em in "My neck of the woods"

Originally Posted by 34_40

Just snuck in here during work hours.. It was wonderful to spend even a short time with JB, Rosie and Rick.. I had so many things I wanted to do while you were here but just no TIME! But even though the time was short it was oh so pleasant! I think You and I JB 'could've spent a couple days comparing notes and still not reach the end of that list.

Until we meet again, Thanks for making time for Chris and I !!

Hey mate; the pleasure is mutual!
It's good to meet someone you know only as a name, and be able to put a face and personality to them.

We thoroughly enjoyed your company.

Rick posted your car up on farcebook, (when you were backing it off the ramps,) and reckons its created a bit of a stir!

I've found the Pratchett quote regarding auditors I was referring to yesterday, it's too long to post on here,(and will mean nothing to anybody else,) so it will have to wait until I get home, copy it off, and post it.

Cheers mate!
jb

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

Ya have got me scratching my gead, trying to remember.... maybe it was the Aussie troops that had such a colorful (to we Americans) word for a cigarette, I don't think I can post it here!

I think the word you're most probably referring to is a 'fag'.

It's common slang for a ciggy in NZ and Aust., and is totally inoffensive in that context.

Originally Posted by johnboy

I think the word you're most probably referring to is a 'fag'.

It's common slang for a ciggy in NZ and Aust., and is totally inoffensive in that context.

I've seen reference in novels relative to Australia and NZ the term "durry" or "durrie" for a cigarette, and also "gasper", which I thought was a bit appropriate. "Fag" is a slang term for cigarettes that is used here, too, but not sure how common it is since I dropped the habit almost 40 years back....

Tuesday 22nd September.

Just about to head out this morning when the woman from the unit next door returned complaining that the breakfast room wasn’t yet open, and without her first coffee of the day she would find it hard to function.
‘We can give you a cuppa,” said She, “which do you prefer; instant or plunger?”
:You’ve got coffee? Here? In your room?”
“Yep. We always carry our own. Then we’re sure of what we’re going to get.”
“Oh plunger please!”
So She made her a cuppa, another for herself, and they sat and talked.
She asked where were we from, what were we doing here and why, all the usual questions, and was totally amazed when She told her the story of the bus and all that has transpired with it.
“That’s unbelievable! You should write a book about that!”
“I think jb has,” She replied.

She tootled off on her way, we delayed a bit to repack stuff and was dishes, when suddenly Robyn returned, with a bag full of doughnuts as a ‘thank you’ gesture for the cuppa.
So how ‘bout that…totally unexpected, and much appreciated.
Who says Americans are arrogant and egotistical…

So trucked off for the Whaling Museum. Lucy, the gps, took us to Hyannis and said “Now board the ferry.”
“Hang on here a minute boy; we’d better suss this out first.”
So I did.
$200 for the car, one way. Or $50 per head one way.
Not a snowball’s chance in a furnace!
So that idea came to an abrupt halt.

Let’s go have a lunch instead.
So we did, at The British Beer Company.
She had a meat pasty with mash and veges, Rick had a steak pie with mash and veges, and I had bangers and mash, which was actually bubble and squeak, and it even had a few burnt crispy bits.
Bloody gorgeous; best feed we’ve had since we’ve been here…highly recommended.

Okay; so if that museums out, let’s try another one. The Marconi/RCA Museum.
Big sign said: ‘Fall Hours. Open Wed to Sat 1:00 to 4:00’
Sheesh.
Lets go back to the motel and blob.
So we did.

Disclaimer: be aware that the views and the opinions expressed by the author of this missive are bloody good ones.

Wednesday 23rd September.

What’s a trip to Cape Cod if you don’t go to the tip of the spit?
So we did.
Race Point
The beaches really are white sand, their black-backed gulls are way larger than ours, there’s lots of little sandpiping plovers running about, and there were whales spouting a couple of hundred yards offshore.
All good
We’ve got to have a look at Provincetown too while we’re here too.
Sheesh!
Not my cup o’ soup that’s for sure.
Tiny buildings on tiny sections, narrow streets, $15 minimum for parking at one place we saw, (we didn’t park,) and teeming with tourists.
It must be absolute chaos at the height of the season.
A tourist trap with tourist prices.
Got to hell out of there.

Saw quite a few vineyards in the Truro area. Not surprising, the climate would well suit.

Lunch at the Lobster Shanty. She had a lobster roll and thoroughly enjoyed it, Rick and I opted for the fish and chips, ‘All you can eat $15’.
We ate the portions served, (it was cod…at Cape Cod…surprise!) but couldn’t handle any more.
Very nice indeed.

On to the Clatham Marconi Maritime Centre, (aka the Marconi RCA Museum.) where we spent an entertaining couple of hours exploring the advances made in radio, telegraphy, and communications generally since WW1.
Very interesting.
Ship to shore, shore to ship, plotting various ships’ positions, the same for German U boats during WW11, and later tracking the travels of great white sharks.
Certainly worth a visit.

And back to the motel around 4:00.
All good.

So what's the agenda for the remainder of the week, jb? You're booked on an aluminum cloud from Boston Logan to San Francisco Saturday, leaving the Promised Land for GodZone. What do you hope to see Thursday and Friday?

There's a car museum somewhere locally, the details are in the car, the cars locked, Rick has the keys, and he's gone for a walk to get a pizza for tea.
And there's something (can't remember what that is either,) that She wishes to look at.
(When it was mooted, I thought: that's okay; I've got a book!)
Friday we head for Boston to find a motel not too far from the airport...hard to believe it's just about over...it's been bloody good fun.
Seen a lot, learnt a lot, had a lot of laughs, and met some very nice people.
All good.