20th April 2011 - 2 days to go.
Depart Sydney at 10:15 on QANTAS QF107, a 747-400 arriving at LA at 06:45 also on April 22 as I have crossed the International Dateline and gained a day. At LA I change to Air Canada 553, an Embraer ERJ-190, departing at 11:15 to Vancouver arriving at 14:00.
A great web site to find the best airline seats is at Seat Guru - just select the airline name and enter the flight number and the "Guru" will identify the aircraft used and display a seat map showing the best and worst seats. It is interesting that QANTAS charges passengers $AUD160 extra to book specific seats on the 747-400 that Seat Guru labelled as being poor or having "drawbacks". I wasn't tempted but I will give an opinion after the flight.
22nd April 2011 (1st day)
Departed Sydney 30 minutes late - when I took my seat I suddenly remembered why I had not flown in a 747 for many years - Economy (sardine) class is the pits. Plane was nearly full. At least the entertainment system had been upgraded since the last time I flew QANTAS internationally and I was able to amuse myself with 5 movies and several TV comedy shows during the 12 hr 40 minute flight - at least we arrived on time.
As for those $160 extra charge seats - the ones with the emergency exits in front of them with all that extra leg room - that Seat Guru rated as poor choices. The main complaint that Seat Guru had was negated by US Air Safety regulations that prevented people from standing and talking in groups (a strange regulation) but they still did have the problem of no seat in front for extra storage space and the less than flexible entertainment system connection. Was the extra leg room worth the extra $160 - probably not in my opinion.
22nd April 2011 (2nd Dejau Vu Groundhog Day)
I have already lived through this day once and, because of the International Dateline, I get to live through it again - it didn't get better the second time around.
At LA immigration on the way in you have all 10 finger prints taken as well as a photo. The usual information card has to be filled in on arrival, but strangely, they don't want to know you on the way out of the country.
Airport security at LA (and all US airports) is something to behold. You have to take off your shoes and trouser belt and empty the contents of your pockets (not even a pen in the top pocket is safe) which are all passed through the scanner along with your hand luggage. Then you stand in a machine in a ridiculous pose with feet apart, hands above your head with palms facing forward, while your pants, without a belt, are slowly slipping downwards.
I queued 3 times for passport/immigration control, 2 times for customs inspection and went through 3 sets of security scans, and one long check-in queue at my hotel in Vancouver (it turned out that there was an "oldies" rock concert at a nearby concert venue that night).
The Air Canada flight from LA to Vancouver went well, it left on time and arrived early. A much better and roomier seat than on QANTAS sardine class. Here's a tip for those who intend to fly Air Canada - bring your own earphones, meals and snacks - because they are not free and the only way you can pay for them is by credit card. Fortunately I was forewarned.
Canada
My first time in Canada. Checked in at around 4pm then went for a trip through the suburbs (by train naturally). The city and surrounding suburbs look great with some interesting designs for the dwellings (single houses, town houses and high rise developments) with plenty of parks and recreation areas. The Vancouver Metro trains (Called "SkyTrains" for reasons I am unsure about - particularly since one line is mostly underground) are fast, frequent (even on Good Friday) and are completely driverless - there is no-one in control of the train yet it seems to work flawlessly.
I have decided to take a picture from the window of my hotel room of every city I visit. Here is the one from Vancouver, the Sandman Hotel on Georgia Street West. Because I have to swap hotels for the first leg of the train trip (don't ask - I don't know) there will be another one on the 25th.
This is a zoom shot between two buildings in the near distance - these spectacular snow topped mountains which form a chain running from west to north of the city can only be seen in their full beauty when you are out in the suburbs and away from the high rise buildings.
I have now been up for nearly 30 hours straight (it is 7:30pm Friday here and 12:30pm Saturday in Sydney) and I am going to crash (after visiting the bar in the hotel of course).
23rd April 2011
Now that I have recovered from my jet lag, I have been out exploring the city and suburbs by train and bus. I don't believe that you can get a true picture of a place by simply jumping on a tour bus and going to the places they take you. This way I get to see the locals and the local environment - the real "flavours" of the place. Sydney Buses is not alone with its problems - an electric trolley bus I was on had its run abandoned when its pantograph became detached from the overhead wires and the driver was unable to reconnect it.
I visited Stanley Park, a large recreational and nature reserve on the edge of the city. Took some photos of the magnificent mountains behind Vancouver from the park.
Booked a floatplane trip (a regular scheduled service) from Vancouver Harbour to Victoria Harbour on Vancouver Island for early tomorrow (Sunday). I will return to Vancouver on one of the large Inter-Island ferries that travel between Vancouver and the many islands in British Columbia. The flight takes about 40 minutes, the ferry trip about 90 minutes and the bus trip across Vancouver Island from Victoria to the ferry another 45 minutes. More details in Sunday's (24th) post.
Saturday night I discovered where the Vancouver City nightlife hangs out - the scene of all the action seems to be in Granville Street, just south of the Georgia Street West intersection, a few city blocks from my hotel. There were a number of nightclubs with queues of hopeful patrons waiting to get in that were about a hundred metres long. There were even a few pubs that were "prior bookings required" and a lot of people (myself included) wandering up and down the street, probably looking for trouble - I know I was but unfortunately (or fortunately) he didn't turn up :). Some police cars were observed doing the rounds.
24rd April 2011
Flew by float-plane to the city of Victoria on the Island of Vancouver. Victoria is the capital of the state of British Columbia (Vancouver is just the biggest city in the state). Departed from Vancouver Harbour at 8:40am touching down in Victoria Harbour about 40 minutes later. The weather was overcast in the morning in contrast to the perfect blue skies of the previous two days. A great flight with lots to see along the way - especially the many islands in the wide channel between the mainland and Vancouver Island. The USA-Canada border zig-zags between these islands and, due to a surveying error in the 18th Century, actually passes through what is in reality the southern most suburb of Vancouver, making that suburb part of a different country - those who live there have to pass through customs and immigration control to do their shopping and go to work.
The return trip was a much slower affair. A 40 minute coach trip to the ferry terminal on the other side of the island and then a 90 minute ferry trip, followed by another 40 minutes on the coach to reach Vancouver City Centre. The "ferry" is actually a very large car and passenger ship, larger than those on the Bass Strait run between Melbourne and Tasmania - for just a 90 minute trip. The coaches, with their passengers on board, drive straight onto the ferry. It has a full service cafeteria, shops, children's playground, even a beauty spa (I was tempted).
By the time I got back to Vancouver it was raining - which is the more usual weather for this time of the year. Later that night I visited one of the pubs in Granville Street that the previous night had been very crowded. Not so crowded tonight but they were showing on all TV screens the Ice Hockey playoff game between the local team, the Vancouver "Canucks" and the current title holder, the Chicago "Blackhawks". It was a very partisan crowd and, unfortunately, Vancouver lost a close one 3-2 in overtime. These two teams will now meet in a 7th and deciding game on Tuesday in Vancouver to see who stays alive in the finals. No doubt the game will be shown in Kamloops where I will be staying that night.
25th April 2011
My last day in Vancouver. Switched hotels to the Rennaissence Harbourside (part of the tour package from Rocky Mountaineer). Image below shows view of harbour from my 10th floor window.
Spent the rest of the day at Grouse Mountain - a ski resort less than an hour by public transport from downtown Vancouver. A cable car takes you up to the top of the mountain where it was snowing.
26th April 2011
Vancouver to Kamloops on the Rocky Mountaineer - 26 cars plus 2 locomotives on the train carrying about 800 people. Departed Vancouver at 8am (on time) but, because of heavy freight traffic we were about 1 hour late getting into Kamloops. Most of the freight trains were over a mile (1.6km) in length. I managed to count 180 wagons and 4 locos on one freight train.
Magnificent scenery along the way, I took a lot of photos but far too many to show here. I am happy to report that I shot my first wild black bear from my seat on the train - it was fishing in the Fraser River (famous for its salmon and trout fishing) when I got it with my trusty Canon on maximum zoom. He/She can be seen in the centre of the shot.
Deer, mountain goats, osprey and bald eagles as well as a few more black bears were seen along the route.
One popular tourist spot along the Fraser River is Hells Gate shown below (note the long freight train on the other side of the river - there is not enough room for two tracks on either side so they build them on opposite sides). There is a cable car that takes people from the highway parking lot down into the canyon where there are gift shops and take-away food outlets, no doubt charging extortionate prices. The cable car can be seen making its descent on the top of the image just left of centre.
Lastly, the view from my room in Kamloops - a very old hotel. It shows the peak hour rush in Kamloops.
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| Peak hour rush - Kamloops |
I managed to get into a pub in the main street to view the 7th and final game of the
27th April 2011
Kamloops to Jasper on the Rocky Mountaineer. Most of the passengers and most of the carriages have continued onto Calgary so a much more select group of people (obviously, since I was one of them) in a smaller train are going to Jasper. I have had to revise my opinion of the spectacular scenery - the section between Kamloops and Jasper is even more stunning - especially with the presence of snow. Again I took lots of photos, here is a small sample of the best, all taken from my window seat on the train.
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| A small settlement along the track |
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| Pyramid falls |
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| Frozen Yellowhead Lake |
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| "Jasper the Bear" is the town mascot |
... and a sign from one of the many excellent eating establishments in town.
Went to another pub for dinner and yet another crowd was there watching yet another NHL ice hockey divisional playoff final - this time between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins - the Bruins won in overtime much to everyone's disappointment.
28th April 2011
First day in Jasper. It started with moving hotels from the Chateau to the Lobstick next door - this was a tour company issue but a pain. At least the Lobstick has a full kitchenette in each room with a refrigerator, the first I have seen in any hotels here!! I stocked up on some decent milk, hot chocolate (I hate the tea they serve here) and a few other essentials I have been missing.
Because the tourist shuttle buses between the town and the various outlying attractions don't start running until next week I had to hire a taxi to get up to the Whistler Sky Tram (a cable car) which goes up almost to the summit of Mt Whistler, a prominent peak overlooking Jasper. The actual summit is a few hundred metres along a track from the top terminus and would have been an easy walk but the park supervisors had closed the track because of dangerous icing conditions. Despite that disappointment, where I stood at the top terminus was still 18m higher than Mt Kosciuszko with the actual summit about 200m higher still. Mt Whistler is only about half the size of the highest peaks in the Canadian Rockies.
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| The tramway seen from the bottom tram station |
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| The summit of Mt Whistler |
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| View of Jasper, its rivers and some of its lakes from Mt Whistler |
Later that evening I had dinner at Earl's Bar and Grill. On its big screen TV was yet another NHL divisional playoff final but this one was between two US teams so no-one was watching - Canadian hockey supporters are very parochial.
29th April 2011
This was the view outside my hotel window at the Lobstick Lodge early this morning.
There was a light snow overnight. Here is a picture that will gladden the hearts of all teachers who are on area duty this winter - the playground of the Jasper Elementary School.
I went walking for a few hours on one of the wilderness trails on the other side of the Athabasca River from Jasper. Here are some of the shots taken on the walk.
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| Into the wilderness |
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| A frozen lake alongside the trail |
I encountered many bear tracks on the trail. The trail was muddy after last nights rain and snow so most of the tracks would have been made during the last 12 hours or so. Here is one of the bear prints.
I also encountered an Osprey nesting on an artificial pole. The Parks service build the poles to discourage the bird from building their nests on power poles causing blackouts (and BBQ'ed birds).
30th April 2011 - observation and philosophy (ranting) day
Today was a day of rest. I just wandered around the township, taking a few photos, observing the extreme changes of weather (and buying a new outer layer of clothing as a result), booking a tour for Sunday (tomorrow) and learning a very important lesson - "no matter how far or fast you run, no matter where in the world you hide, you can never escape your past"
People
It was about 10am, right after I had booked a wildlife tour for Sunday and was walking down the street towards the railway station when I was honked at by a car behind me (how rude I thought) followed by someone calling out my name. I turned, not knowing what to expect (who could it be?, what have I done wrong?, should I start running now?). There before me, in the car was Tim and Jill Radford. Tim was a former Principal of my school. He and his wife were on a 5 week trip around Canada and Alaska and were driving off to Banff when they nearly ran me down. What are the odds - no doubt a mathematician will tell you that they are not so remote these days and that I would believe.
Commercialism
One cynic I was corresponding with recently who taught as an exchange teacher in a nearby town commented that Jasper is really Just Another Small Place Extorting Revenue. A wander down Patricia Street, the main retail street of Jasper, would confirm that view. There are a large number of winter sports fashion boutique stores, gift shops, pubs, bars and grills, etc. But no McDonalds (and the local residents are fighting to keep them and a few other fast food chains out) although Subway and KFC (both with low key appearances) are present.
Here is a selection of the views around town.
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| Jasper Railway Station |
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| Main Street |
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| Railway Yard with views |
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| Mountain and forest views |
Weather
On the matter of the weather - I was sitting on a park bench in the (relatively) warm sun but out of the very cold wind when the sun suddenly disappeared behind a cloud, the temperature dropped enough for me to put on another layer of clothing, and then it started snowing. None of the snowflakes lasted more than a second or two after landing on the ground or on me for that matter. This continued for several minutes before the snowing stopped, the sun reappeared, the temperature returned to its previous level and the outer coat came off again. This was repeated a couple of times over the next few hours.
The calendar states that Jasper should now be in the middle of Spring, but the locals insist that Spring has yet to put in an appearance.
Customs
As much as I like Canada, there are two things that annoy me and unfortunately they are everywhere.
The first is the GST (or HST as it is also called). The price you see on the shelf is not the final price - the GST is added at the cash register. So the $5.00 becomes $5.50 when it reaches the checkout. And if the sale involves alcohol, such as at a pub or bar, then an even greater tax, the HST (Harmonising Sales Tax) is added to the price shown on the menu or wine list. I first encountered this at LA airport when California Sales Tax was added to the price of the food and drinks I purchased. Why can't they simply do what we in Australia do, and have the full (GST included) price on the price tag?
The second thing is the Gratuity or tip that applies in all places where food and/or drinks are served. The standard and expected rate is 15% so you have to do the mental arithmetic as well as juggle with the Canadian currency at the same time. A 10% rate would be far easier to manage, especially after a few drinks.
I am now back in my hotel room blogging and watching the Vancouver Canucks play the Nashville Predators in game 2 of the Conference Championship playoffs. If they keep winning they might make the NHL playoffs before I get back home.
1st May 2011
Last full day in Jasper and it turned on a regular heat wave at 12C. The wildlife tour, about 4hrs long, took us to Pyramid Lake, then to Medicine Lake and Lake Maligne both high up in the Maligne Valley (where it was still cold) in search of wildlife. We spotted Elk, Mule Deer, a colony of Aspen, a hunting Coyote (but no Road Runner), nesting Osprey, hunting Bald Eagles and a Marmot but no bears or moose. Photos of the critters I was fast and lucky enough to get are shown below, in order of appearance.
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| Elk grazing by the roadside |
Elk are a nuisance in winter as they come into town and help themselves to any gardens. As a result most houses, schools and recreation parks are surrounded by Elk Proof fences.
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| Aspen colony at Pyramid Lake |
Aspen - don't look for an animal among the trees, the aspen colony is all the thin grey trees. The hundreds of aspen trees in this grove are in fact a single tree grown from a single seed. All are connected by a very extensive root system. While each individual tree can live from 40 - 150 years, the colony itself can live much longer. The oldest, in Utah, is believed to be 80,000 years old.
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| A hunting coyote |
Coyote hunting on Pyramid Lake taken at maximum zoom. We watched for several minutes as it stalked a pair of Canada Geese which were also on the lake ice surface (perhaps in the belief that they were safe from Coyotes). The hunt was unsuccessful when the potential meals spotted the stalker and flew away.
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| Marmot |
Now the scenery itself made up for the lack of bears and moose - although the two higher lakes were well into Grizzly Bear territory it was still too cold for them to be out.
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| Medicine Lake |
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| Maligne Lake |
My first snowball of the trip made at Maligne Lake.
It turned out that I didn't really need to go on the wildlife tour because later that afternoon, the wildlife came to me. I took these two shots outside my hotel.
Now you can see why most places in Jasper have elk proof fences.
2nd to 5th May 2011
Departed Jasper on the 2nd of May on VIA Rail The Canadian service to Toronto. Jasper has been the high point (both physically and scenically) of the trip so far.
By sunset we had cleared the Rocky Mountains. From the train I saw some mountain goats perched quite precariously on an almost vertical rock face, saw some Big Horned Sheep and lots more elk. Unfortunately I was not quick enough with the camera. After the mountains we passed through the foothills before entering the vast Canadian Prairies.
Some shots of the train which was 22 carriages long.
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| The front half of the train at Jasper Station showing one of the observation cars |
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| The rear half of the train, my sleeping car was 3rd from the end |
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| The rear observation and lounge car where I spend a fair bit of my time |
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| The upstairs observation deck |
The Prairies
Day two on the train was crossing the endless Canadian Prairies, the "big sky" country where most of Canada's wheat is grown in fields that cross from horizon to horizon (so the guide book says).
Note the relatively flat horizon - not a mountain in sight - quite a contrast after the Rockies.
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| Big Sky country |
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| Note the dominant colours - brown and brown, no green anywhere |
One of the normally tranquil rivers in flood. That night we reached Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba. Some shots.
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| Union Station, Winnipeg |
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| Grand Trunk Hotel |
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| Me outside the Grand Trunk Hotel |
The next morning we had entered the Forest and Lakes district of Canada - hundreds of lakes and billions of trees and although I didn't see Treebeard, I believe I saw all of his relatives. In fact for an entire day we didn't see much more than trees, trees with frozen lakes, trees without lakes, trees and more trees. Tick box - Canada has lots of trees.
While observing the trees, we encountered many freight trains like this one - double stacked containers and 100 - 180 cars long.
5th May 2011
Toronto, the largest city in Canada. After checking in to my hotel, The Bond Place Hotel, I took the mandatory picture out the window.
To the right of the picture is Dundas Square on the intersection of Yonge and Dundas Streets, two of the main shopping and eating streets of Toronto
I managed to queue up to get into and up to the top of the Toronto CN Tower, which they claim is the tallest in the world.
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| The view from the bottom |
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| The view from the top |
One of many views from the top overlooking Lake Ontario. Although it didn't appear in the photo on the horizon it was possible to make out the skyscrapers at Niagra but the land itself was below the horizon. I will be visiting Niagara Falls tomorrow. The airport on the island is the Toronto City Airport for non-jet commuter aircraft. A ferry operates between the island and the city.
6th May 2011
Caught the morning train, the Amtrak Maple Leaf, from Toronto to New York but left the train at Niagra Falls on the Canadian side. Walked from the station to the falls.
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| The American Falls on the left and the larger Canadian (or Horseshoe) Falls on the right |
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| A "Maid of the Mist" boat passes the American Falls on its way to get up close and personal with the Canadian Falls |
On the "Maid of the Mist" brave adventurers who have chosen to stay on the lower deck (some people do have some sanity!!!) look towards the approaching Canadian Falls.
Moments later they are in retreat from the gale force wind and the freezing horizontal rain coming from the falls.
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| Is this close enough? |
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| The boat in the same position seen from a saner and drier view point |
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| The Canadian Falls seen from the footpath |
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| Several kms downstream is the famous "Whirlpool" formation |
The "ugly" side of Niagra Falls - Clifton Hill home to an endless selection of touristy trash, wax museums, fun parlours and other rip-offs.
7th May 2011
Last day in Toronto. Visited the Toronto Islands, a short ferry trip from the city. The islands, all interconnected by foot bridges, were originally a series of sand islands just a few kms off the coast from the city. The islands offer recreational facilities such as cycling, fishing, yachting, walking, swimming (there is even a nude beach as well) but as it is still the "Winter Season" here there was not much going on - and, apparently, nothing coming off at the nude beach either. So I walked around a bit and then amused myself by watching them move a yacht from its storage location a few hundred metres from the water to the launch jetty and into the water - an interesting operation.
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| Toronto City from the ferry to the Islands |
8th May 2011
Departure day - fly from Toronto to Boston. But this time I passed through US Customs and Immigration at Toronto Airport before even leaving Canada. Almost the same routine as at LA - finger prints and photo taken, shoes off, everything out of pockets but I got to keep my belt on and no full body scanner. I was able to while away my waiting time in the departure lounge using the free Airport WiFi, including updating this page.
Flying Air Canada again so I bought my own snacks and headphones.
Eastern USA
Arrived in Boston, staying at the Courtyard Hotel in the Theatre district surrounded by lots of live theatres with operas, various musical performances, etc, going on - all with ushers in olden style uniforms standing outside greeting the patrons. Also surrounded by old buildings and historic sites. This place has an old world charm and ambience about it. Its a Sunday and people are out touring the graveyards (of which there are several quite close to my hotel) which contain historic graves from the War of Independence and other events.
I wandered around the town and caught a tram that traveled past such famous institutions as "Harvard" (and it did look expensive), "Brigham Young University" and various schools of fine art, design and medicine.
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| Here is the view from my hotel window |
9th May 2011
In the morning I caught the commuter train to the suburb of Salem, the scene of the infamous witch trials of 1692. Again, the suburb is very rich in history and with the inevitable "touristy" sites that exploiting the town's grim history. A few images from the Witch Trial Memorial located next to the oldest burial ground in the town.
There are 20 innocent victims identified in the memorial. The last image shown above had an "interesting" description. A correspondent on "Yammer" identified the meaning of the inscription. He died while being tortured by piling large heavy stones on his chest to get him to make a plea, guilty or not guilty. Without a plea there could be no trial.
A nearby statue shows how Hollywood can turn any historical event, no matter how terrible, into a successful TV show. Do you recognise the show?
In the afternoon I went on an academic train trip. One subway here, the Red Line, links together a number of world famous institutions - Harvard University, M.I.T. and Columbia University.
Here are some images of the "Hallowed Halls" of Harvard.
Compare these with the "Technology Towers" of the nearby M.I.T.
10th May 2011
Caught the morning Amtrak Downeaster express train from Boston to Portland, about a 2 hour 30 minute trip. Amtrak run 5 return trips each day between the two cities. The journey starts in Massachusetts, crosses the state of New Hampshire in about 30 minutes, and ends in the state of Maine. In this part of the USA a normal commute to and from work can easily cross state borders. The line runs through forests for most of the journey, occasionally passing through a small town or city.
Haverhill, at the northern edge of Boston, MA.
The large campus of the University of New Hampshire, hidden among the trees, has its own railway station. Unfortunately the weather was not the best and for much of the trip it was raining making photography from the train difficult. The ever present trees which seemed to deliberately block each shot were also a problem. Portland, Maine, was cold, wet and windy but on a warm sunny day would have been a great little city to visit. One treasure I did find in Portland was the Portland Narrow Gauge Railroad.
11th May 2011
Moving from Boston to Washington on the Acela express. Maximum speed I measured by the old fashioned method of checking time between two mile posts was 230km/hr. This speed is only possible on the section between Boston and New Haven. The train shares the same track as local commuter trains, regional commuter trains and slow freight trains, so it is not a TRUE high speed passenger train. Some shots from inside the train.
Inside one of the passenger cars. Nearly everone has a laptop or an electronic book reader.
The Cafe car.
On approach to New York's Penn Station, we crossed this very familiar bridge.
This bridge, known as the "Hells Gate Bridge" carries only rail traffic and was built before the Sydney Harbour Bridge - with the result that there were claims that the designer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge copied his design from this bridge. The above images were taken, processed, resized then uploaded while on the move - even while traveling through the underground into and out of New York's Penn Station. Arrived at Union station Washington at 3:45pm. My hotel is out in the suburbs with little public transport available - the only bus is a regular service that takes about 1 hour to reach a metro station. I rode the bus and discovered that it travels through the poorest and most socially depressed areas of Washington to the suburb of Anacostia.
There are no shopping malls, the few shops look run down as do most of the houses. The population is almost exclusively afro-american. During the bus trip many passengers got on and off but I was the only white person on the bus. During my stay I observed that throughout most of Washington, most bus passengers were afro-american/hispanic while most car drivers/passengers were white.
12th May 2011
Visited the Smithsonian Museum complex between the Washington Monument and the Capital Building (where all the politicians are). The complex is so huge it has its own station on the Metro. There are a number of large buildings covering different areas, most of which would make Australia's largest museum look like a shoebox. The one I was interested in visiting today was the Air and Space Museum and it turns out that there are two, a smaller one (but still very large) at the complex and the larger one out at Dulles International Airport.
It is a 50 minute ride on an express bus to the airport (cost $6 one way) then a 15 minute ride on a shuttle bus (50c each way) around the airport to a giant hanger on the other side. Entry to the museum is free.
The view inside is impressive - one large hanger with multiple levels that contains the SR-71 spy plane, the Concorde, the B29 bomber "Enola Gay" that dropped the first atomic bomb and scores of other aircraft. A smaller side hanger contains the space shuttle Enterprise and a variety of other space craft. Here is a small sampling of the sights.
13th May 2011
Wet and cold so I decided to visit the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian complex in the city. This museum (also free) has a much more historical perspective - it has an original Wright Flyer and a number of other "firsts" in aviation and space history. There is a much greater emphasis on displays based on particular themes. Again many hours would be needed to fully explore it. It also has its own IMAX cinema.
Did some travelling on the Metro rail system and found the suburb that is the exact opposite of Anacostia, Friendship Heights. Many shopping malls, with names such as "Fifth Avenue" and "Bloomingdales", many quality restaurants, the vast majority of faces on the street were white, well maintained houses, some large corporate offices (e.g. Microsoft).
14th May 2011
Departed Washington on the 9:00am Amtrak Acela Express to Philadelphia. One thing that they do very well over here is the design and construction of grand terminal stations. Here is just a small part of the vast Washington Union Station (hey with federal government money there is no limit to what you can do).
... and the 30th Street Station at Philadelphia.
Arrived in Philly by 10:30am so I had plenty of time to do some exploration of the city and parts of the subway - there are two separate subway systems run by different transit authorities. Here is the view from my hotel room.
... and guess who will be playing at a live theatre in 69th street in July.
As a city, I think Philadelphia is a great deal better than Washington.
15th May 2011
Took the early morning (9am) NJ Transit train to Atlantic City
New Jersey. Atlantic City has been described (accurately in my view) as "Las Vegas by the sea" which would make it a cooler and wetter version. Atlantic City has always been famous as a beach resort city and for its world famous Boardwalk.
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| The Boardwalk looking south |
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| The Boardwalk looking north |
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| Trump's "Trump Plaza", one of his smaller casinos |
16th May 2011
Today I started early to see if I could beat the crowds to see the "Liberty Bell" in Independence National Historical Park - which must be the only national park in the middle of a city (just 6 city blocks in size). Alas I was not early enough.
Its 9am, its cold, damp and foggy and all these people are already lining up (madness). I decided to go and have breakfast instead and, 20 minutes later, when I returned, there were only 3 people in the queue - so I jumped in. This is what they were waiting to see - The Liberty Bell
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| The pipe organ in Macy's Philadelphia store |
The cruiser Olympia is on the left. Launched 1892, she is the oldest floating steel hulled warship and the only survivor of the Spanish-American War. To her right is the World War II submarine USS Becuna. The WWII Battleship USS New Jersey is docked almost directly opposite on the other side of the river in the state of New Jersey.
The streets around the waterfront district are rich in historic houses and buildings. It is even possible to take a horse drawn guided tour through the streets.
The rest of the day I had a look at the home ground of the Philadelphia Eagles football team (impressive), the Philadelphia Flyers ice hockey team and travelled on the PATCO subway line - I even got to sit in the seat next the driver.
That night I decided to try the "Graffiti Bar" on 13th between Walnut and Sansom, which I had noticed the night before, for dinner. To get to "The Bar" you have to walk down a long narrow alley (not much more than a body width) while dodging water dripping from above, past a cyclone wire fence (always welcoming) into what is basically the backyard of a building. The bar is amazing - a large graffiti artwork covers one wall and two long tables - one used for the bar itself. It is all open to the outside air (but protected from rain) so if it is cold bring warm clothing. The bar, which would seat about 20, clearly has a loyal group of local patrons because it was "buzzing". The food is Japanese, as it is at the rear of a Japanese restaurant, and very good but not cheap.
Other places that caught my eye in Philadelphia:
- a fashion accessory shop for dogs - anything and everything for the pampered pooch called "Doggie Style" on the corner of 13th and Sansom.
- a frozen yoghurt dessert shop called "Sweetendings" on Walnut near 13th that served the most delicious desserts.
17th May 2011
Departed Philadelphia for Scranton by US Air Express jet. US Air is a budget airline and has made several appearances on the TV show "Air Crash Investigation". They charged me $25 for one item of luggage - how long before Australian airlines start doing this? Again I had to pass through airport security - no shoes, no belt, pants falling down in the scanner - but I am getting used to it now. Boarding time arrived with no aircraft in sight when they announced that the aircraft was "in the hanger for maintenance" - which fills you with confidence. Eventually, an hour later, they found a replacement aircraft and off we went. The sole air hostess on board did not even have time to get out of her jump seat because the whole flight from terminal to terminal took about 35 minutes.
I am staying at the Lackawanna Station Hotel in Scranton, a magnificent building that was originally the main station and HQ for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&WRR for short). They gave me a top floor 3 room suite - sweet!!!
Here is the mandatory photo from my top floor window.
There are railroad tracks directly below my windows and yes there are actual trains (freight) and locomotives using the tracks - heaven!!. Just to prove I was not lying about my luxurious 3 room accommodation, here are the photos.
The sitting room with my computer already set up on the table.
The bedroom (and bathroom beyond). Note the two sets of bath-gowns and slippers on the bed.
The hotel itself still retains the original railway station and company headquarters foyer as shown in the next two photos.
The main foyer. The walls are decorated with images of the DL&WRR in the form of tile mosaic paintings.
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| The entrance |
At the nearby shopping mall there is a working model railway display showing Scranton in the heyday of its railway period. All the major buildings in the town are modelled including my hotel - The Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel.
The third and forth windows on the top floor, long side, is my suite.
After dinner at the hotel, I decided to go and see a movie - $6 for the ticket and I had an entire 190 seat cinema all to myself for the 8pm showing of the action flick "Fast Five". Tuesday nights must be slow in the local movie house scene.
Tomorrow, I think I will go underground.
18th May 2011
Took a brief tour of the outside of "Steamtown" and the "Electric City Trolley Museum", both of which I will be visiting tomorrow. Took a photo of a "Big Boy" on display outside Steamtown.
The Union Pacific "Big Boy" locomotive, one of the largest and most powerful steam locos ever built.
Caught the local town bus from downtown to McDade Park on the outskirts of town. Then walked up the hill to the Anthracite Mining Museum. NE Pennsylvania, where Scranton is located, has a long history of coal mining and, in particular, anthracite mining. Anthracite is the hardest and most valuable form of coal. The park is centred around an old Anthracite mine. Underground tours are conducted regularly.
The tour starts with everyone getting onboard the cable car for the descent into the mine. It goes to a depth of 100m below ground level and the tour lasts about 1 hour.
The descent begins. A party of 7th graders were also onboard for the tour.
Unfortunately, for some reason, coal mines are dark places and not ideal for photographic exercises - particularly since I have never learnt how to switch on the Flash unit of my camera. However, I was able to get a decent image of one of the animated displays in the mine.
The fate of a miner trapped in a rockfall - the fingers wiggle.
By my return to Scranton it had turned cold and was raining - the most common weather conditions I have encountered on this trip.
19th May 2011
Visited the Electric City Trolley Museum next to the Steamtown park. Scranton was the first city in the US to introduce electric trolley cars - hence it earned the name "The Electric City". They operate trolley rides on Thursdays to Sundays on 5 miles of track, a former electric suburban railway, the "Laurel Line", which includes a 1 mile long tunnel, forests and river scenery and ends at the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre baseball stadium. An impressive ride which takes about 1 hour for the return trip, including a tour of their trolley restoration workshop next to the stadium.
Next I visited the Steamtown National Historic Park - the US National Steam Railway Museum. A very professional setup. It uses the large roundhouse of the former Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad to tell the story of how the railways were built, how they worked and the people who built, ran and used them. A number of restored cars are open for inspection. Several steam locomotives, some of them operational, are also on display in the roundhouse.
It was interesting to note that all the operating steam locomotives at the US National Steam Railway Museum are from Canada. When US railroads started scrapping their steam locomotives in the 1960s they did not think that they were worth preserving. Canadian railways had a different philosophy with the result that most of the working steam locomotives in North America are from Canada. The museum also offers short train rides in restored Lackawanna passenger cars pulled by Canadian National Railways steam locomotive number 3254.
The above shot shows the locomotive and three passenger cars passing the original Lackawanna Station and railway head office, now the Lackawanna Station Hotel. My rooms were the third and forth windows on the top floor.
Later that night in the bar at the hotel I was introduced to the man who saved the old Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad HQ and station building from destruction. After the railroad went bankrupt after WWII (as many of them did) the building was unused and started to fall into disrepair. A committee of interested towns people was formed to try to save the building. They succeeded in raising funds to start the restoration work and got a major hotel chain, Radisson, interested. The rest, as they say, is history.
20th May 2011
Departure day - Scranton to Chicago. I have really enjoyed my stay in Scranton and not just because of the trains and trolleys. Although it is a small city it has an atmosphere and a spirit that a lot of larger places lack. In the Steamtown Shopping Mall, for example, the unoccupied shops and offices (a common sight in nearly all the places I have been) have encouraging, positive, "retail space available" signs.
Wilkes-Barre-Scranton International Airport - Check-in for the United Airlines flight to Chicago involved paying the now usual $25 fee for my luggage - don't tell QANTAS about this. The check-in operator asked me if I would like to volunteer for a later flight - they were overbooked - but that would have meant waiting 5 extra hours at the airport so I declined. Once again the security screening involved removing my shoes (the trick is to undo the laces before you reach the security checkpoint) but this time I got to keep my trouser belt on. Removing the belt almost seems to be a random requirement - maybe some of the security screeners like seeing passengers with their pants slipping down! At least the flight left on time, unlike my previous airline, US Air Express, where all the departure screens where showing "Delayed", "Cancelled" and even "In Maintenance" for all their flights leaving today.
Mid and Western USA
Chicago 20th to 23rd May 2011
The mandatory shot from my hotel room in Chicago.
The hotel is a two story converted motel but is quite close to the city. On the way in from the airport the cab driver pointed out a particular landmark, a bar/cocktail lounge/speakeasy called the "Green Mill" that has existed at this spot since 1907. I was able to go back later for this snapshot.
During that time the Green Mill has had many famous and infamous visitors. During the prohibition era it was the favourite night club of Al Capone.
Another iconic sight of Chicago, indeed of all the US, is shown in the next picture. This one is notable because it has the biggest golden arches in the world and internal up and down escalators - a nice touch for those who are too fond of the products sold here.
The most iconic feature of Chicago is the "El" or Elevated railway which runs above the street level right through the city centre. There are several separate lines which snake their way around street corners and between buildings.
I spent one day riding the "Hop On Hop Off" double decker bus (every city now has them) which allowed me to get to many of the attractions.
Chicago boasts the tallest building in the western hemisphere, the Willis Tower (originally known as the Seares Tower). At 103 floors (plus the antenna towers on top) it is an impressive sight.
But its most popular features are two glass platforms on the top floor that extend out beyond the windows - like window boxes. There is nothing like standing on one of these platforms and looking down to see 103 floors of "nothing" to the ground below. The first shot shows what you are stepping out onto. The second shows my foot (honest) on the platform and looking down.
Chicago has many museums both scientific and cultural, and some unusual buildings. The architect Frank Lloyd Wright and many others of note did some of their best work in Chicago. The Hop On/Hop Off tour pointed out many buildings, both modern and old, that made architectural history.
The inside of one large dome building. The bottom floors (and lower ground floors) are for commercial use while the upper floors are used by the Government of Illinios.
Part of the Chicago skyline as seen from the Adler Planetarium. Note the Segway Tour under-way in the foreground. Also at the same location is the Shedd Aquarium seen just behind the trees), the 2nd largest in the US, and the Field Museum of Natural History (the home of "Sue" the most complete T. Rex skeleton ever discovered). The Willis Tower is the tall building on the right.
That night I went to the movies Chicago style. The cinema complex has 21 screens, a 12 (or more) lane bowling alley, numerous bars, a very large restaurant and the usual pizza, nachos, hot food, candy, etc concessions.
The next day I travelled outside Chicago on the Metra system. The El services the inner suburbs while the Metra services the more distant locations.
Virtually all railway platforms in the US are low level which means that the trains need steps for the commuters to get in and out.
Taken from the top deck, there is only a single row of seats on each side of the top deck and a gap, with a luggage storage rack, between the seats. This gap allows the conductor (and each car has its own conductor) to collect tickets from both decks at the same time.
The trip I took was to Waukegan, a northern outer suburb of Chicago, equivalent to travelling on CityRail from Central (Sydney) to Gosford in both distance and time. The fare was also roughly the same as a Central - Gosford trip but where Metra and CityRail differ was in the service frequency. It was a Sunday and Metra had only one train every two hours while CityRail on a Sunday has one train to Gosford every half hour.
The next day was departure day. I arrived at Union station with time to spare so I was able to explore. I discovered that it does have a "Great Hall" like the Union Stations in the other cities I had visited.
Unlike the other locations, this Great Hall had no commercial activities, no ticket sellers or information dispensers - all that chaos can be found two levels below. It was a quiet restful place for travelers. While I was there one passenger started playing a recorder and the music echoed throughout the chamber.
Chicago Union Station has always been the centre for long distance train travel in the US, and it still is. The departure board at the station listed such famous train names as ...
California Zephyr to Emeryville, California
Southwest Chief to Los Angeles
New Orleans City to New Orleans
Empire Builder to Portland/Seattle
Hiawatha to Milwaulkie
While I was waiting for my train to be called for boarding (the California Zephyr) I overheard one of the security guards laying down the law to a long line of passengers waiting to board the "Wolverine" (now there is a name for a train) bound for Pontiac (north of Detroit). She sounded just like a Primary School teacher dealing with an unruly class. "Your tickets must be signed before you pass through security. If they are not signed I will send you to the end of the queue. If you do not have your ID ready I will send you to the end of the queue." It was one of those little moments I will always remember.
Sitting behind me in the waiting area were an Amish family. All dressed in traditional clothing. The father with a long beard, the mother and three daughters in plain blue neck to ankle dresses, no buttons or other decoration and wearing small caps that looked like the paper wrapping found on cup cakes. I do remember the daughters staring at me as if I was the devil himself (maybe I was as I had been using my laptop while waiting).
The train left right on time - 2 locomotives, a baggage car, 4 coach (day/night sitter) cars, a lounge/observation/cafe car, a dinning car and 3 sleeper cars at the end. All cars but the baggage car were double deck.
Amtrak California Zephyr Chicago to San Francisco May 23rd to 25th
The first major landmark encountered was the crossing of the mighty Mississippi River, which is currently in flood and destroying a vast quantity of farmland down south. The river is also the border between Illinois and Iowa.
At this location the river level was high but not high enough to break the levies so we were able to safely cross.
One of the towns in Iowa where we stopped should be familiar to the diehard M*A*S*H fans amongst you. Which character from the show had this as his home town?
That night we crossed the infamous "Tornado Alley" just 24 hours after a tornado had destroyed the town of Joplin further south with a huge loss of life. A massive lightning storm raged all night damaging the track signals and forcing all trains to a crawl for several hours. As a result we arrived in Denver Colorado 2 hours late. During the night we crossed the states of Iowa, Nebraska and into Colorado.
After Denver we started climbing, twisting and tunneling our way up the Rocky Mountains. The train was delayed for another hour by a signal failure and rocks on the line which the crew had to clear. A few shots of the Colorado Rockies.
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| A little yellow schoolhouse, no longer used |
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| The mighty Colorado River, as a small raging stream |
On the descent from the Rockies the train follows the Colorado River from its source for about 300 miles. When this river reaches Arizona, it carves out the Grand Canyon.
In the late afternoon we followed the Colorado River through the spectacular Glenwood Canyon. The shots do not do it justice.
.. and what do the Americans do when they discover a thing of such natural beauty, they build an interstate highway through it of course.
The construction of which caused major technical difficulties which I am certain the engineers enjoyed overcoming.
The setting sun with a dark and stormy sky set up some magnificent views of bluffs and mesas.
You almost expect to see a wagon train appear.
The following morning we were in Nevada where every small town on a major highway has its own casino. Here are a few shots of the scenery in Nevada.
As one passenger remarked, "There's nothing worth looking at in Nevada until you get to California". You can be the judge.
California and the magnificent, majestic, inspiring Sierra Nevada mountains. The "crown jewels" of the trip from Chicago to San Francisco. We crossed the mountains in an unseasonable snow storm so this is all we got to see.
Visibility was about 20-30 metres from the train.
After the mountains we passed through Sacramento, the capital of California, and then skirted around the edge of the San Francisco Bay to Emeryville, the end of our journey. A bus took us into San Francisco and even dropped me, as the last passenger, at my hotel at Fisherman's Wharf, a great eating and shopping spot. Here is the inspirational view from my hotel window.
San Francisco 25th to 28th May 2011
No-one comes to San Francisco without riding the cable cars. The last time I was here over 20 years ago the cable car system was closed for a complete rebuild.
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| Car No. 6 at the Hyde and Beach Street terminus and turntable |
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| The Gripman in action |
The levers he controls grip or release a moving cable that runs under the road between the two tracks. When the cable is gripped, it pulls the cable car along with it.
In this view you can see the groove between the two tracks that carries the moving cable.
This system is ideal for moving cable cars up the many steep hills in San Francisco. Moving down the other side of the hill however is a different matter. The gripman relaxes his grip on the cable and relies on using the brakes to slow and stop the car. However this is often not enough. So the ticket collector doubles as a brakeman and turns on the hand brake at the back of the car for each downhill run.
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| The ticket collector works the rear hand brake |
The cable house with one set of wheels and cable for each line. When switching from one line to another or crossing over a another set of tracks, the Gripman has to release the cable and pick it, or the new cable, up on the other side.
A few other shots of San Francisco.
Most houses in the suburbs are of this type - two or three stories, sometimes with separate apartments, and all close together. What is most interesting is the colour schemes used by the owners.
Lombard Street - the "crookedest little street in San Francisco". The section shown was too steep for motor vehicles to take safely so it was lengthened by "zig zagging" the road to reduce the gradient. This makes it one of the cities tourist attractions - why I am not sure.
Ever wondered what the Pacific Ocean looks like from the other side - well here it is, Ocean Beach, looking North towards San Francisco.
Westfields Shopping Centres, they are everywhere in Australia ... and also in San Francisco - yes, Westfields (exactly the same logo) are here as well - you can't seem to escape them. But I must say that the Westfields San Francisco Center is several levels above what you would get in Parramatta or elsewhere in Australia (with the possible exception of their new Sydney City Centre). 5 or 6 floors, 200+ shops including Bristol Farms (an incredible Deli), major US department stores Bloomingdales and Nordstrum, a multi-screen cinema complex and free wireless internet plus free power connection points (that's why I am here). One of the main and heavily photographed features of this centre is the fully restored glass dome and its supporting structures that were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Some images (the floor here is actually on the 4th level of the centre so the dome structure has been lifted up 58 feet).
28th May 2011
Final day of tour - the five weeks has passed at its normal speed but it seemed all to quickly for me. My flight (QF12 - a QANTAS A380 Airbus) departs LA International Airport at 10:30pm tonight (Saturday 28th) local time - that's 4:30pm Sunday 29th Sydney time. Landing Sydney airport at 6:30am Monday 30th Sydney time - a 14hr flight.
Since I am currently in San Francisco I will have to get to LA first. My local flight, on American Airlines, leaves San Francisco at 7pm tonight. Hotel checkout is at 12 noon so I will have some hours to kill. My current plan is to check my luggage into the flight as early as possible then, with a minimum of carry baggage, have some easier options for the rest of the day.
I was able to check my luggage into the Airline by 11am for transfer to Sydney - and they did not charge me for the luggage. I then went back to San Francisco by BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transit train and did some more sight seeing. Back at the airport by 5pm and through security kept my belt on which confirms my view that they only make you take the belts off when they are bored. Free Internet wireless and power connection point are available. The airport is strangely quiet and deserted - don't northern Californians travel on Saturdays?
I am currently watching two San Francisco Police Department officers (one arrived on a Segway and the other on a bicycle) open and examine a unattended bag that was left only a metre or two from where I was sitting - I never noticed it but someone did and reported it - I could have been sitting next to a bomb!! Turned out to be a false alarm as the owner turned up a few minutes later - I was hoping for some more excitement as there is absolutely nothing going on here.
30th May 2011
Well it is now all over - arrived Sydney airport just before 7am on flight QF12 (an A380) after a 14.5 hour flight from LA. Strong head winds added the extra half hour to the flight making it the longest I have ever endured. I discovered that I do not travel well on long flights.
I do prefer the A380 over a 747, at least in the configuration QANTAS is currently using. The seats are a bit roomier and, despite more passengers on board (every seat was taken), it did not seem as crowded. I particularly enjoyed the tail mounted video camera during the takeoff at LA and the landing at Sydney.
If you are wondering what happened to the 29th of May - it was lost crossing the International Dateline.
Postscript:
The Vancouver Canucks made the NHL Stanley Cup Final series against the Boston Bruins. During the week following my return to Sydney I was able to watch the final 2 matches of the 7 game series. Unfortunately the Canucks lost the final two matches to lose the series 4 games to 3. The loss was followed by some rioting and vandalism in Vancouver.
