US Holiday

NAUGHT5 · Feb 11, 2011

Thanks for the reply ODN :thumbsu:

Memphis is definitely a contender.
Definitely want to spend as much time as possible in and around NYC and will take the advice and go to a Cowboys game in Dallas if possible.

waggamick · Feb 11, 2011

New Orleans...not sure how it has recovered post Katrina.
Memphis....make sure you check out when Beale Street is 'operating'...when I was there they closed off blocks along Beale St. and there were bands performing outdoors, etc.
Miami...haven't been there but mates reckon its ordinary.
Savannah...nice.
Washington....nuh!
New York....definitely...I'd like to ahve a look at Noo Joisey next time to check out Soprano haunts.
Chicago...so so.
Boston...regret having not gone there.
Vegas...my son* rates it big time..and he's not a punter.

*He spent 6 months in Mexico last year and 2 months backpacking Central and South America.....
If you want to 'step outside' the USA he rates Mexico City and Medellin, Colombia as OUTSTANDING.

The Old Dark Navy's · Feb 11, 2011

waggamick said:
Memphis....make sure you check out when Beale Street is 'operating'...when I was there they closed off blocks along Beale St. and there were bands performing outdoors, etc.

I was under the impression that Beale Street was always 'operating'?

They do have special events from time to time so bands and festivals take over, but when they are not there all the clubs and bars are jumping, and spilling out into the streets and street vendors are selling alcohol and what not.

Even on these normal nights, it is police controlled and they block off a couple of blocks, but you just show your ID to get in. Even kids are allowed in if you are a tourist and they are well looked after.

My wife forgot her ID back at the hotel and my daughter was 14, and our shuttle driver told us when we got there (stayed near Graceland) that kids could not go in and we needed the ID. She told us to try and get in though and she would be back in an hour.

We saw other kids in there, and the cop we approached asked us where we were from, and when we told him, he said 'we love Australians' and we didn't
have to show ID. He followed us through a second blockade to let us in as well.

http://www.bealestreet.com

Open every night.

Oh and they really love their funnel cake there .... they serve it in the streets as though it is their Aussie theme park version of churros ... hmmm.

Childish Gambino · Feb 11, 2011

We're thinking of spending only a full day and night in Memphis ODN. Do you think that would be enough?

SonOfScray · Feb 11, 2011

AS9 said:
We're thinking of spending only a full day and night in Memphis ODN. Do you think that would be enough?

Depends what you want out of it. We were there for three days and while we had a bit of downtime there was still a handful of things we couldn't do, or rushed a bit.

I'm guessing that most people who have Memphis on the agenda are pretty keen on rock and roll / blues music. I am a nut in that respect anyway. So Sun Studios, Graceland, Staxx (incredible), Gibson guitar factory and Museum of Rock n Soul are absolute musts.

From there you've got a trolley ride around town, the riverfront for a boat ride along the Mighty Miss. and a visit to the Civil Rights Museum, at the Lorraine Motel where MLK Jr. was assassinated. That's two pretty jam packed days.

If you are not going for too long here is a suggestion:
http://www.backbeattours.com/
[YOUTUBE]vqAFSJrEnuo[/YOUTUBE]

Do the Mojo tour, great value and a lot of fun. Its a musical tour where the guide will play blues and rock classics relating to Memphis sights and characters. You see plenty of the city and get the highlight reel sort of tour.

Have lunch at a Corky's BBQ fast food chain.

Head over to Graceland. Get a VIP pass and see the car collection and planes.

Watch the NBA @ FedEx Forum if the Grizzlies are in town and party on Beale afterwards.

I reckon you'll be wanting more though after that! Its a wonderful place, food is awesome as ODN said. People are incredibly friendly, but you do see a bit more audaciousness from the panhandlers I suppose. The place oozes culture. You could check out Clarkesdale for a day trip, visit the 'crossroads', etc as well.

Copernicus · Feb 12, 2011

SonOfScray said:
We stayed at Room Mate grace in NYC, had a pool, sauna, steam room and cocktail bar downstairs which was very cool. Breakfast included was decent value as well. I'd imagine if you were in party mode that it'd be a good place to stay, we didn't really make the most of the facilities as we were out all day from early morning well into the evening for shows, dinner and pubs out in the boroughs etc but I did like having a dip before bed, or a sauna to thaw out a bit.

We spent two half days in DC, did a night tour of the all the monuments, air and space musuem and a walk through the mall in the morning the next day before catching the train to NYC. A little rushed, but we wouldn't have needed anymore time I think. Really nice place though. For sight seeing anyway.

Memphis - amazing, I agree. Awesome food, night life, people, ball park, stadium, tourist spots etc. In Vegas all the staff at NYNY were wondering why the hell we were going there, gave Memphis a real bad wrap - not sure why. The main tourist district , historical area and riverfront were real cool. We stayed across the road from the Peadbody at the Holiday Inn which was a bit shit but you get what you pay for.

I got to stay at the Peabody last year while my wife went to a conference in Memphis. Very nice hotel, quite happy to get a free room there I must say! And while the 'downtown' is for the most part pretty dead, there are some cool places. Beale St was fun but I thought it was overly touristy. There were some fun places to eat all over the city though. Not a bad place to spend a couple of days.

peejay · Feb 12, 2011

Copernicus said:
I got to stay at the Peabody last year while my wife went to a conference in Memphis. .

Did you see the ducks?

I have stayed there a few times and found it amusing.

Hard Ball Get · Feb 13, 2011

Thought I'd chuck a couple of pics up of my trip.

Yosemite... Get there! It's awesome.

Top of the Rock

peejay · Feb 13, 2011

SonOfScray said:
Thought it was fine, although there were a few parts of the Bronx where the immediate surrounds after getting off were a bit daunting. Mostly just because there was noone around other than some bums drinking whiskey from a paper bag and all the shops had boarded up windows etc. Just a bit eerie after getting on the subway at Times Square for instance...

I'd say go as far as you want. Would have liked to check out Pelham Bay Park area for instance, just for something a bit different. I really wanted to head out to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play as well which would have been an hour trip on the Long island Rail Road and a 20 min taxi ride from the closest station but we decided to goto a show instead. It was more a time issue than a safety, or nerves issue really.

I have caught the subway to JFK three times - its a breeze although the final short train ride from the station to the airport is a rip off ( its run by JFK not the metro) nothing really scary about it. I do it to pick people up at the airport and then take the set fair cab back into the city.

SonOfScray · Feb 13, 2011

Hard Ball Get said:
Thought I'd chuck a couple of pics up of my trip.

Yosemite... Get there! It's awesome.

Wow.

The Old Dark Navy's · Feb 14, 2011

Might throw in a few of my photos from each of our destinations myself, both touristy and beautiful.

LA - from up on Mullholland Drive, overlooking San Fernando Valley

Looking towards Downtown LA, Hollywood Bowl below

Looking towards our hotel with Hollywood sign in the background

Walk of Fame on Hollywood Blvd, tribute to Tony Curtis over his star the morning they heard he died.

Santa Monica Pier

Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills

City Walk outside Universal Studios

The Old Dark Navy's · Feb 14, 2011

Memphis

Not very clear with the lights and all but this is Beale Street.

Graceland

Inside Graceland

Just a sample of the thousands of awards and gold records on display in the house and in other buildings on the estate.

Self explanatory.

The Old Dark Navy's · Feb 14, 2011

New York

Fully recommend taking a Circle Line cruise around Manhattan.

Brooklyn Bridge

Lady Liberty

Best view of the Manhattan skyline at night, from Brooklyn.

The Chrysler Building taken from outside Grand Central Station.

The Old Dark Navy's · Feb 14, 2011

John Lennon's building. Was shot in that courtyard.

Marvelled at the classic elegance inside the Empire State Building. Old but beautiful.

Skating rink outside Rockefeller Centre. Won't post my own Top of the Rock shots, seen it once, seen it a thousand times and all that. Should try and take the TV Studio tour inside the building while you are there though.

Security told me I was not allowed to film inside the foyer here. Must of thought I was casing the place or something.

The Old Dark Navy's · Feb 14, 2011

Times Square.

Needs no introduction.

Okay, one Top of the Rock shot, looking downtown.

The Old Dark Navy's · Feb 14, 2011

Niagara Falls

Looking towards Horseshoe Falls from window of Marriott Hotelroom.

Breathtaking.

Canadian and American Falls in the shot.

Maid of the Mist

Horseshoe Falls

You feel like you can reach out and touch it from here. Surprisingly all the mist goes to the front so you don't really get wet right beside the falls.

The Old Dark Navy's · Feb 14, 2011

Las Vegas

Replica Eiffel Tower outside Paris Casino.

Mirage Volcano.

Bellagio Fountains.

The Old Dark Navy's · Feb 14, 2011

Volcanoes National Park - Big Island Hawaii

This leg was definitely all about relaxation for us.

The Old Dark Navy's · Feb 14, 2011

Disneyland.

California Adventure Park.

Freakie · Feb 14, 2011

10 days!!! :thumbsu:

SonOfScray · Feb 14, 2011

Great photos ODN!

alex_is_on_fire · Feb 14, 2011

SonOfScray said:
Great photos ODN!

Agree great photos. :thumbsu:

SonOfScray · Feb 15, 2011

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Santa Monica Pier

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Hoover Dam

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Grape Soda

47607_10150351674595304_726440303_16269769_4683296_n.jpg

Cattle Ranch in Arizona

jefffff34 · Feb 15, 2011

Have finally decided to get my pictures on Facebook so I'll post some of the better ones throughout the day (slow process).

Basic overview of the trip...

LA - Great hotel at Universal City Hilton (I picked it), we were allowed to check in like 3 hours early which was great after spending 2:30 in line at LAX immigration in the biggest queue I have ever seen (took a photo on my phone and it still doesn't actually show how stupidly long the line is....there were 4 people serving thousands of people)

We only had two nights in LA and unfortunately we crashed pretty heavily on the first day due to Jetlag. There was a school shooting half an hour from where we were staying on our first day too.

Second day, Universal Studios day, brilliant. So much fun, tour very interesting. Then doubled up that night by going to Staples Center to watch Clippers vs Timberwolves. Blake Griffin ripped in two dunks but his double-double streak ended that night unfortunately. Kevin Love kept his going.

We got the subway in to the game, had a black dude talking to me about body weights and all this sort of stuff, he didn't look too stable but he gave me a knuckle knock for being a cool guy. Then he started ripping in to the local dude because he was too scared to talk to him.

San Francisco - Stayed at the Hotel Carlton on Suttor Street. Found out this was one block away from Tenderloin - which is the codename for Cracktown. (GF's choice) Walked to the main shopping strip with my $900 camera and my GF holding at least $500 in her purse. Somehow made it through the worst area in San Francisco. The only incident was an old guy who had just relieved himself on a building asking me if I would help him zip up his fly. My honest response was "No thank you". My GF then asked me why I actually said 'No thank you'. Manners are free.

Did a bit of shopping that day, got my Air Jordan's in SF Giants colours which was one thing off my checklist of the USA. Went back to the hotel (cab) and then went back out in the evening for Hooters dinner (GF's idea). The joint is exactly like on TV, however the girls do actually seem genuinely nice people...I guess you couldn't keep that sort of act up if you weren't. We gave Jenise a tip which she returned as change, and we were like "no that's your tip". Got a photo with her

Next day did the ball park tour of AT&T Park, did a bus tour of the whole city, which included Golden Gate Park, Golden Gate Bridge, etc, saw the Tanner's House from Full House.

That night went to Oakland via private car to see the Warriors play the Kings. Was an overtime win for the Warriors which was huge. I filmed the last 26 seconds of regulation time on my iPhone - it goes for like 8 minutes. Amazing game. Our private car was waiting for us in the car park outside, our driver Terry was sitting there playing games on his phone...it was very akin to Homer being in the car park sinking Billy Beer cans while Bart and Milhousse are watching Spinal Tap.

Note - Private car was sought for the trip to Oakland due to the distance travelled from SF (half hour drive in no traffic) and the fact it was Friday night and traffic was stupid. It was a flat fee and was cheaper, and obviously swankier than a cab.

On the Saturday (and with my GF's virus now heavily entrenched into my own system) we did the Alcatraz tour. The free audio tour is a must. We also saw what was apparently SF's largest ever protest rally, which was to do with anti abortion. Upon arrival to the mainland, we hit up the Piers for dinner, got a bucket of fresh donuts and saw the Sea Lions be loud and obnoxious and very cute.

Headed up to Vancouver next, put on jeans for the first time in about 2 months and jumpers and such. If rugged up properly, it really wasn't that cold at all. It was around 8 degrees during the day. That day was Conference Final Sunday in the NFL so we did a bit of football watching and then went to dinner. No biggie. The next day unfortunately rained all day, so there wasn't much we could do without getting drowned. Went shopping and looked around the CBD. We did also go Ice Skating in this very cool little rink near the main College. That night we went to the NHL and saw 1st placed Vancouver beat 3rd placed Dallas 7-1! That sport is brilliant to watch live. We were also in the lucky bay of seats that they select each night where we got free giveaways for certain events. I got a hat and a stubby holder (beer cozi if you are Canadian!)

From Vancouver, we headed on the Amtrak bus down to Seattle. Was a lovely drive down, and when you think about the inconvenience of planes in the amount of time waiting and transporting luggage and all that sort of stuff, if you have a short trip to get (that trip took about 3 hours if you take out the border patrol stop) it really is heavily recommended. Very relaxing. Stayed at the Maxwell Hotel which is 5 stars almost, fairly cheap and almost brand new. It's on Roy Street which is walking distance to the Space Needle, and a fair walk to the main strip of shops. In Seattle we checked out the Pike Place Markets, went to the Aquarium, checked out Qwest Field and Safeco Field (tour of Safeco...stole a pen from the press box - very Creed Bratton style) and then went to the Space Needle at sunset. Quality place. Very relaxed.

We would go back to every city I reckon, LA is so vast and spread out, we didn't even scratch the surface of it, and we know that. We probably got the best insights of SF. I personally wanted to spend a lot longer in Vancouver - I haven't seen a cleaner city ever, and Seattle is very, very livable.

Pics to come.