We are in Chicago!! with news

 Carlys Pregnant.... not really.

since we havnt been able to update our blog due to no internet  i will let you know where we have been.

New York
Boston
Montreal
Buffalo 
Toronto
Niagara Falls
Cleveland
Chicago

and tomorrow we head to Nashville.

Jason & Carly Signing Out For older post click link at bottom of the page

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Day 1:

Well we didn’t start off good in Philly, all accommodation fell through leaving us stressed with not much we could afford.

When we arrived we wandered around looking at the city with an undesirable feeling of discontent with not knowing where we would be sleeping for the next couple of days. We found a Starbucks and decided to chill there until we found somewhere to sleep. Starbucks are great because of their wifi, and pretty relaxing feel. They are also everywhere, there were about 50 in the city alone.

We sat in Starbucks for about 3 and a half hours looking and emailing surfers trying to get something, finally deciding on a hostel not too far it was just a bit pricey. We arrived it was very cool everyone sitting around the tv watching a movie like a party form when you were a child.

While we checked in they had told us there was still heaps of room for tomorrow but not anything for the night after. I explained to Carly that if no one has emailed me back tomorrow morning ill book for another night. We unpacked our bags and walked to go for a night walk and see this city.

Philly now is a safe city at night, I say now because I hear it wasn’t the safest in past times, as we started walking we only made it about 20mins then it started rain so we had to head back to the hostel and hit the hay.

Day 2:

When I woke up in the morning we found out no one had emailed us back, I went down to book an extra night only to be told that there wasn’t any beds available for us and the other hostel was 30min drive and it only had one bed available. This was a blow and we didn’t know what to do, then we found a lead that might help us. The manager of the hostel was a couch surfer and his account said he had a couch. I emailed him and explained our situation and we had met him the night before so he knew who we were. With nothing to do we packed up and went to put our bags in the hostels storage for the day.

While packing we met 2 people Lucy from Scotland and a guy from Australia (forgot his name) we all got to talking. Carly and I decided to head out for a walk with the Australian to take some photos of Philly and see some of the History district. We walked for 2 hours and just chilled out, until we decided I wanted to see the Rocky  steps as most do while in Philadelphia.

The walk takes you through the heart of the city so you get to see some really amazing things. Among them City Hall is a huge building with a clock tower now, City Hall is an old with sort of a gothic feel to it, then its surrounded by a wall of new concrete towers either business or apartment complexes so it does take away a little but at the same time it looks funny so I don’t know.

Then you cross the road and hit the LOVE statue, again huge for tourists, I even got a photo, but the view from there is of the world flags lining the road all the way to the steps is a just as good view from there, then the view from the steps facing the city (the famous view).

We walked to the steps and did what most do, the rocky stance and dances on the top of the steps just for the fun, it really is an amazing view from here looking over the city.

Heading back to the city we stopped at a Starbucks again to check our emails, we had got a reply but not of the sort we wanted. The guy said he didn’t have any room for us but he could tell us a place to squat if nowhere was found. Can you guess it we didn’t find anything.

He told us to meet him and he’ll show us where the place was and that we could eat dinner at the hostel (Wednesday was free pasta night). When we arrived he showed me an abandon apartment that nobody lives in and told me how to get in and all that was needed. Now at the start I was fine with it I didn’t really think about it as being to scary.

Sitting at the hostel until the pasta was cooked we chilled and met 2 guys from the UK Mathew and Chris we got to talking, they were cool. When dinner was ready we went down and got it sat with Mathew and Chris chatted more, I had seen that the cinemas were cheap on Wednesday so I asked if they wanted to see a movie with us, then I asked Lucy they all said yes.

I had to drop the bags off in the apartment because we could stay there after 8pm, then when we got back anther girl had over heard and wanted to join us, it was so much fun the fact he had a good sized group to spend the night with.

We all walked down and watch movie called Win Win, a really funny movie and we all had a good time, again new experience for us and it was good. After the movie we didn’t want to go back because then we would have to stay in the apartment for a longer period of time and not what we wanted, I said asked if they all wanted to go for a walk to the Rocky steps for a night view. We all said yes and did just that walked there and had an amazing time with this cool group of people.

When we got back to the apartment it was time to sleep, not a fun experience and it soon became an unfun experience all you could was people around us, on the streets and there were people in other parts of the same building so you could hear doors open and close voices. I was waiting for a knock on the door the whole night, never coming, I got no sleep for two reasons one Carly took the whole sleeping bag so I slept fully clothed with nothing covering me and it was a cold night not fun. The second was I kept waking up with every nose because I didn’t want to get caught, but when morning came safe and sound was all that mattered.

Day 2.

When morning broke we headed for Starbucks free WI-FI best thing and did we take advantage of it while in Philly. We had found out that someone could host us for the night but by the time we saw the email, it was too late so we organized to surf with him in two nights, we had had another guy as well contact us and he was online so we just headed to his house. His name was Dan, Dan was an artist and he lived not to far from the city but with out exploring and comfortable sleep we just wanted to sleep. Over the next 2 days we just chilled out and organized what we wanted to do going forward, also getting to know Dan and his lifestyle. Dan was an amazing artist but it sucked for him, his next-door neighbors main water pipe had burst the day before and knee lever of water flooded his basement,  and in his basement was his personal archive of all his work with 90% of it being destroyed he was incredibly clam it astounded me haha, it was just like “it will make everything that survived worth more money when I die” so he was just one of the most relaxed guys we had met.

Day 4.

We headed to Starbucks again and chilled there for the whole day until Faiz our new surfer could pick us up, faiz was a cool guy we chilled with him over the next 3 nights, hanging with him and his girlfriend. Taking us to his personal favorite place to get the Philly Cheesesteak, so we got our first cheesesteak and it was great no amazing.

Day 5. We got out and explored more of the city and walked to all the ends we had which wasn’t much but we came across a cool little secret called “Magic Garden” a single man had put 45 years into this amazing work of art, see the city of Philadelphia has some of the most amazing mozacks and they cover buildings everywhere, and this was a whole garden that was huge completely cover.

Day 6

Heading to New York.

Jason & Carly
Signing Out
For older post click link at bottom of the page

Washington D.C

 

Washington D.C

Day 1.

Sleepwalking and a grumbling belly.

Well arriving in Washington at 3am it isn’t a good start at all, we were very tired and most of the time haven’t eaten anything so it can get bad at times. We arrived in Washington with some people we had met on the bus while they waited to transfer they sat with us. After no speaking and uncomfortable condition people and things get to you easy, it was funny for me the people we had met made Carly angry, talking about her it was funny to watch but I felt for Carly.

After sitting in greyhound station for maybe 3 an a half hours we got a taxi to Jims house, Jim was a couchsurfer host we would be staying with for the next couple of days.

When we arrived at his house we were a little early, it was amazing morning and it gave us great insight into Washington. We sad on the curb just watching every man and his dog walking or jogging by, it gave you a vibe of a very healthy city compared to what we had experienced. When we got in his house it was a museum of its own, his house was amazing art placed around his house, it really was nice better than any hotel we could afford. Jim had a dog called Matza she was crazy and such a fun dog, she came and wanted a scratch and loved the new company. On our second night we got some food and Matza got into our bread that had a elastic band around it, it would have been hard yet she still managed to eat half a stick by climbing on the table and digging in, amazing believe me.

Back to day 1 after we arrived we introduced ourselves to Jim and he gave us some idea of things to do, we got ready and set out for the day. Now after spending a week in holiday mode to get back into explore mode and get back into walking all day was hard be we hit it hard, we left the house at 8.30am and didn’t get home until 7pm.

Jim had explained you could go to the top of the Washington monument and view the city, what we had to do though was get a time ticket and they usually are all gone by 9am so we had to set out and get there. We got there and out ticket was for 11am so we had to kill some time, what to do with so much to pick from? Well we decided to go check out the Lincoln memorial.

While we walked to Lincoln, hearing construction work, when we walked up the steps at the WWII memorial, disappointment to realize the work was being done on the refection pool. None the less we continued to walk to Lincoln, school children everywhere not fun, but as we walked up the steps of marble and stood where Martin Luther King jr. rallied and the words of his famous speech “ I Have A Dream” engraved in the marble.

Lincoln sitting in his chair as we look through the pillars, the signs say “quiet please” as a sign of respect. Walking inside and the dead silence shows the respect still shown for Lincoln and the great he did for the country, to each side engraved were statements by Lincoln. It is a great experience for anyone whether they are American or not to see the memorials because it gives you history of who this man is, and America had some great men.

Stepping down and over looking the famous view, the view of the reflection pool then the Washington monument, it is a great view and again a must do, but at the right time of the year and not on weekends.

We moved onto the Vietnam memorial, the 22 standing Vietnam solders where meant to represent how it war was for Vietnam soldiers, constantly looking over there soldiers not know where the attack would come from next, there faces showing the exertions of fear and uncertainty. If you’re interested in war this is a great sight to see, even the Americans showed their respects to them.

The reality of the honor and respect Americans hold for there soldier surrounded us, sounds of clapping behind, getting louder and louder, as we turn a group of soldiers jogging in a group, people stop and clap, and honor there men and women of war. It was a weird scene for me, never experiencing anything of that extent not for even the most famous people. They pass us, not one person  (besides Carly and I) that wasn’t clapping as they passed, you could just see the respect, even from the youngest of child. A surreal feeling of which I had never felt before, a good feel at the same time.

Walking down to the Roosevelt memorial the scene of school children was not of the good kind, we get there and there was not room for us, it was just a let down that we didn’t get to enjoy the monument to greater extent. We just got to see whatever kids weren’t climbing on, which wasn’t much. If you get the time I do think it was a good thing to see and talk your time to walk through it and read, it was on the big side with more to see then the other memorial.

It was time for the Washington monument, we get over there and enjoyed the view, you can see a lot of D.C from up there, it’s just something you should go and see while in Washington.

The Benjamin Franklin Memorial:

Was in my opinion was the best Benjamin Franklin, again made out of marble which is just amazing, but as you walk in Franklins memorial the walls surrounding you are filled with his testament. I found them to be amazing and so much ahead of his time. If you do go to D.C you need to see his Memorial it is great and he was an amazing man.

Now Franklin memorial is a bit out of the way so if you are heading down there, plan to do the Holocaust museum and or the federal burial printing tour. So of course we did them both.

The Holocaust Museum:

The holocaust was always going to be a sad place to be, but it is an amazing museum, take a tour if you do go they are free and give you great insight for the rest of the museum. It’s broken up into 5 different sections so there’s a lot to see, so take your time and don’t rush. The museum where we started was like a time line tour, it started you off before Hitler was Dictator and runs until he commits suicide and aftermath, but also shows in today’s world as well and how its all affiliated.

Then you get a time ticket to do the main tour, this is a self-guided tour viewing more of the Jewish side and gives you a look of life in a concentration camp.

Money Print Tour:

The money-printing agency is a free guided tour of the processes and the history of the American bill money. It was a fun tour to see, but if you had to pick over another place or tour to see, it might not win. I would say see it if you got the time and seen all other main attractions unless you would enjoy it over art.

National Museum of Natural History: 

NMoNH was amazing from the moment your eyes set on the wooly mammoth at the main entrance, your imagination running wild as if your childhood never left you. The museum is well placed out and flows well so your not left going back and forward like others, it has everything that you could possibly want from a museum and more. The fact it is free is just the start of the greatness of the Smithsonian Museums and they did a great job with constructing an interactive and compelling museum. Each new exhibit brings a new light, but not an over bearing amount of reading again like a lot. You could easily spend a full day in here, that’s if you want to read more in not all but it could be knocked off in 4 hours if you pass by and read what’s of interest, if your planning to going make sure your time is right and not with hundreds of school children because that will take a lot of the interest out of the museum.

Protest/Marching to Capital Hill:

A beautiful sunny morning Carly and I decide we were going to head to the NMoNH, while on our walk to anywhere in Washington D.C we passed the Whitehouse every morning, so we would get to see a lot of what goes on within the city. This morning as we were heading down we could hear a loud chant, we have heard past protest during our stay in Washington D.C but never of this magnitude. We passed a large volume of youth wearing green helmets, we decide to follow, discovering a great life opportunity for us, and this was a March to Capital Hill. Australia doesn’t have such a political voice with our youth, well not as much as I’ve seen since in America, so to be apart of this momentous occasion, but also with it being a good cores and I felt this could be one more tick of great things to do once.

The chanting, feeling the electricity of the people, the voices, faces and the fact they were here to show that our new generation is going in a different way to maybe our past did or want to. It gave me great feelings of emotion to see such an act, for everyone that is America it may be nothing, but for me to be apart of this just gave me a new grasp on my own views, whether they were political or even making the right decision as a adult, standing up for what you believe in is a great feeling and one I will now not change. I feel that everyone should be able to be apart of some sort of moment or even be able to express their beliefs to a larger volume of people that will listen, it is a life changing experience.

We walked what would be maybe only 20-40 mins it took almost 2 hours, police blocking traffic and roads to allow us to continue our protest, screaming, posters, flags, all filling the sky. It was about the industrial and business that pollute our air, again it’s your freedom of speech so people might not agree with it but it was fun to be apart of.

American Indian Museum:

This museum is a great one, the building is designed to have a feeling of the wind and earth are still curing it, looking like sandstone it gives it a good feel and people seemed to like it (not me). Being a big fan of Native Indian arts and culture this was a must see for me. We arrived and were able to join a free highlight guided tour, he took us through 3 levels each having a main theme to it and he was able to extensively go through it with us. I love it, some people wouldn’t enjoy it but it’s a great thing to see, it can become slow in some parts but they don’t mind if you wonder off and look at other parts if he’s boring you (not that they’ll word it like that)

Air & Space Museum:

It is very sad for us to admit but we didn’t get to see much of the air and space museum, it sucked because I was looking forward to seeing it, just not enough time in the day to see everything so hopefully another time.

Hirshorn Museum:

Hirshorn was a meant to be a sculpture museum, not that it wasn’t but I’m going to say rush out and see the exhibit. I found it to be very boring art and more of a leftover collection, it is sad because they did have some Picasso and Warhol and this amazing black room but that’s about it. The other art was very simple so again if you want to go somewhere that there not many people and a free time killer this is your spot.

American History Museum:

AHM, was great. We all know that America has a full and rich history, with so fame that can follow with historical events or end sadly. This exhibit was one that is a must do while in Washington D.C, this exhibit doesn’t just cover politics, it has film, figures, events, lifestyles, progression, and helps you understand this amazing country with such diversity. It’s had so very famous items, such as the ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz and Abe Lincolns top hat. It’s a great place to see.
 

Cathedral:

 From the city I don’t suggest busing it, believe me it will be easy to bus but you miss so much great stuff. We walked from the city center to the Cathedral, taking close to 2 hours but the walk was beautiful, you pass a lot of countries embassies, those houses are crazy some of the best looking buildings you will every see. Passing the Vice Presidents house and just everything that comes with walking.

One you have reached the Cathedral, you will be happy because it does pay off, it Is amazing the building it huge, the work and detail that went into this was absolutely astonishing it took close to 100 years to build it, actually I think it was just over 100 years. The stone cuts are amazing and the time and effort put into the stain glass windows it just so cool. Whether you walk or bus it to the Cathedral it is worth it and a must see.

George Town:

After the cathedrals we continued to walk and headed to George town, when we arrived there really wasn’t much there or not as much as people/internet talked it up to be. While walking we past a market, the market showed its colour with antiques filling peoples stands, vintage jewelry and piles and piles of past life’s lay on the unsteady table tops ready to sell.

I am a big vintage enthusiast, not that I buy I just love to look at how time has changed everything its amazing.

White House:

What can you say it’s the white house, a movie icon, a world icon and a alien to its surroundings amongst the cities big building. The White House though its just a house is still really cool to see, if you never ventured outside your house everything could be a figment of your imagination, the fact that I’m standing in front if something with history and symbolism of world power is life never had felt this real to me.

Though its might be nothing to some, its a must see attraction just for its symbolism and its fun.

Recapping Washington, it’s the first city I liked, it was a lot more like cities in Australia so it felt like home for me. People here are always walking its just such a healthy place, a lot better then every place we had visited since in the states.

The cities architecture is amazing and is a beautiful city to walk around and enjoy its rich history. This is a must do city for everything but a crazy night like no need to waste a great city for that, everything you will find is very nice and has a great vibe and its all chilled.

 

Jason & Carly
Signing Out
For older post click link at bottom of the page

Myrtle Beach

 

Myrtle Beach

Day 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41.

Heading down to Myrtle Beach, to us it’s a relaxing trip as we are going to be camping, so it will get us used to camping so when we hit our National park run and hiking we hopefully can enjoy it more.

Myrtle beach state park has beautiful trees that curve over the main roadway creating this tunnel effect, the bliss is there and everything is just so calm. When we arrived we had to walk such a long way from the gate to the park office to pay, a 2 minute walk then became a 25 minute walk - no joke, our bags are so heavy so we are going to be sending some more stuff home again its just overbearing to carry around 25-30kg on my back every time I need to go somewhere.

We set up camp in our spot, there were only two other tents set up upon our arrival and by 6pm the park was almost full because it was a Friday people wanted to escape the city I guess.

The whole time we just chilled I went on a 4-hour walk to get us dinner, we had the hotdogs you cook on a grill, really nice.

On Saturday night a storm came roaring in and at 8pm it hit, we sat in our tent playing uno, the second time we had camped and the second big storm to hit. Lucky for us while I was throwing out rubbish I found a tarp it was huge and looked new, so I decided to get it out and use it as a floor out front of the tent because I hated all the dirt getting in the tent because of Carly. When the storm hit with the help of Brent (brent was one of four people we had met camping next to us) we tied the tarp over the tent to help reduce the amount of water hitting the tent and then create that mildew stuff in our tent.

On the Sunday we walked for ages, it took us maybe 3 hours to get to town, we were looking for the information center to find out some stuff to see. We finally arrived at a center and its closed nothing inside or information at all, so we kept walking. Finally we decided to play miniature golf, but its not miniature at all the places to play here are huge, they call them adventure gold, it really is an adventure.

We didn’t know what we wanted to do next, we almost got on a bus to Virginia beach but the weather decided it for us, so we had to find a hotel to stay and figure what was our next plan of action. Finding Summer wind motel for 35 a night we didn’t know what to expect, but when I walked in and started speaking they loved it, I got talking about our trip and they really enjoy to hear, they gave us the ocean view room and its really nice, close enough to walk and just a good break from the past fast pace month we have had and the next fast two months ahead.

We decided to head to Washington D.C and from there head to New Jersey and then to NYC, we have to find accommodation because NYC are crazy prices so we have got in contact with a lot of couch surfers and waiting to hear back. We are couch surfing in Washington I think with maybe 3 different people because of we want to stay for maybe 9 days to see everything.

 

Jason & Carly
Signing Out For
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