Thread: Ramblings From The USA - 1

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I'm glad that you, Rosie and Rick have had, mostly, a good time and a safe journey. I hope you have a safe trip home.

Down by the docks in Boston there are some great lobster restauraunts. I like the one that advertises on the window two lobster dinner for 24 bucks, well worth it! It's like a block from where you rent harbor tours and duck boat rides

There is also Cheers bar, worth a pint or two to celebrate whatever! Cheers the tv series was filmed there.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

I'm glad that you, Rosie and Rick have had, mostly, a good time and a safe journey. I hope you have a safe trip home.

Thanks mate; we've really enjoyed ourselves, and will have many happy memories to look back on.

Originally Posted by stovens

There is also Cheers bar, worth a pint or two to celebrate whatever! Cheers the tv series was filmed there.

If we get the time that could be worth a look too.
Thanks for that.

Thursday 24th September.

There’s a wee business across the road called Gills Citco, not too sure what he does, it would appear to be mechanical work on cars and light trucks.
I’m usually out of bed before 6:00, no-one else is awake, so I go outside with my book and a ciggy.
Every morning this bloke has had his doors open and is banging and crashing around inside before 6:30.
And every arvo it’s around 6:00 – 6:15 before he turns his lights off, closes the door, and heads for home. Dunno who he is or what his name is, but Sir: I salute you!
I hope you do well with your business and retire with a fortune…you will have earned it.
If you trust in yourself, believe in your dreams and follow your star, you’re still gonna get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so bloody lazy.

Enough with the philosophical thoughts already!

Headed back to Hyannis, She wanted to walk the shops on Main St, and there was a sports car museum there that I wished to see: Toad Hall Classic Car Museum 288 Scudder Ave., Hyannis.
Shops came first.
I tagged along for the first few, but after that spent a lot of time sitting on steps and planter boxes swinging my legs and puffing on a ciggy.

Lunch was at a place called ‘Sandwich Box’, it claimed to serve sandwiches; but we would’ve called them kebabs, a meat and veggie filling wrapped in a soft, thin, pizza-type dough.
An excellent feed. Just enough too; not too much, and not too little.

Off to the museum.
About thirty cars, predominately British, but a few classic Japanese, 240Z Datsuns and the like.
He had two TVRs there, built by TreVoR Wakeman in England…that makes a total of four that I’ve seen in my life.
Daimler SP250 (the Dart,) Sunbeam Tiger, Triumph TR2s and TR3s, two MGAs, MGB, Jaguar XK120 and 140, a pre Cobra AC, (although it did have a V8 I couldn’t identify by the sump, instead of either the Bristol or Mk II Zephyr,) a few Lotus models and much more.
Well worth a visit.
And at $8 per head…cheap as chips.

And arrived back at the motel about 4:00
All good.

Love those old TVR's! My cousin had one. Cool collection to check out. The sunbeams would be cool to check out too

Jb, snag the mini hemi out of the SP250........it would be a cool lump for something......

Hope that you enjoy your last full day in the US, jb, Rosie and Rick! Sorry that we didn't hook up this trip, but that just gives an excuse for another trip one way or the other! Enjoy the day, stay clear of the terrors of the CBD's, and travel safe tomorrow.

JB, hope you and family enjoyed and have some great stories to take home and share with friends and neighbors!

You don't get shot of us that easily; we've got a day or three left yet!
We don't fly out of San Fran until the 29th.

If you're in the SF area on Saturday night and feel like venturing a little north to Navato, join us at the TREK winery for a night of classic rock n roll!

UTR @ Trek.jpg

Cool too bad I'm beat or I'd come down!

Friday 25th September.

Okay, keep on truckin’ heading for Boston and a silver bird for San Fran tomorrow.
Boston is about a two-hour drive from Orleans, Rick didn’t want to drive through the town during rush hour; so we deliberately delayed leaving until 9:00.
Bit of a shambles here…the first motel Lucy directed us to turned out to be a chemist shop…the next one had no vacancies…the next one had vacancies; but they wouldn’t be available until 2:00.(It seems rhe red socks [?] are playing?) Paid for them anyway; then went to a mall (One Square I think it was called,) for munchies, tried to get gassed up after that, only to find that the petrol station we pulled in to had run out of gas…and the speed and volume of traffic plus the winding twisting streets that Lucy took us over did nothing to calm Rick’s nerves.
(The driving conditions are understated…a prick of a place…)

Made it back to the motel, (Econo Lodge, 321 Broadway Malden, MA 02148,) rooms were ready, checked in, got sorted…and…no internet.
Rick can get it on his phone; but the network connection refuses to recognise my machine.
Sigh.

(Although it did, eventually, allow me on. For a little while. Then dumped me again. Another sigh)

Saturday 26th September.

Had to book in an hour before departure time of 11:30, so left the motel around 8:30 to get the rental car returned and get ourselves to check-in by 10:30
Finding the rental car return was no big deal, but there was something wrong with the paperwork and it took for ages to process.
Then we had to find our way to check-in.
Thankfully the nice man from Budget offered to drive us there.
Thank gods he did; we would never have found it in the time we had available!
But we made it, got our luggage checked in, ourselves checked in and we’re on our way.
Five hours fifty minutes to San Francisco from Boston. Seems a helluva lot longer in cattle-class
Arrived San Fran, found the appropriate carousel, I needed a bathroom, so left Rick and Rosie to it while I walked a bloody long way for a toilet, and then a bloody long way back again.
Still no sign of our luggage, so wandered over to the United desk to find out what had happened to it.
Seems that it was with Air New Zealand awaiting shipment on the next flight to NZ.
Bugger!
Tried to ring Air NZ…to no avail…and their desk will not be manned until 6:15.
With the change in time zones it’s now 4:15. So that’s a two hour wait.
So we waited.
Finally someone showed…to tell us that our bags would be still at United; we’d have to get them from there.
Bugger again!
So back to United….another bloody long walk.
Got to talk to the Supervisor this time; not the bloke on the floor.
She seemed to know what she was talking about, asked us for any easy identification points re our bags. (That’s easy; the two large suitcases are a revolting shade of pink!)
“Go sit by carousel 3. I’ve set the wheels in motion; and your bags should be there by 6 o’clock.”
And they were.
Rick went back to thank the lady for her help, while She and I got things a a bit organised. Too late now to go look for a shuttle bus, besides, it would’ve involved another long walk dragging baggage, so found a taxi stand right outside the door, and caught a rickshaw to the hotel.
So we’re now ensconced in the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway San Francisco.
And we have wifi!