Day Eight

Got up early for once. We were out of the hotel just after 8am and on the way to our first stop. It wasn't far and it was the reason we were staying in Bowling Green. So by 8.30am we were in here http://www.corvettemuseum.org/.  Corvettes have been made in Bowling Green since 1981 and the museum opened in 1994.

The first Corvette from 1953

There were plenty of different Corvettes from over the years. We wandered around and decided which ones we would have and which looked a bit naff.

My choice

Ann's Choice (It was Roy Orbison's car)

In the middle of the museum was a place called the Skydome, which was basically a round room with a high ceiling. What we realised as we looked at the exhibits was that last year a sinkhole opened up underneath it and eight cars fell in. Their total worth was about $1million. They got removed in the days afterward but most were damaged beyond repair, so now they are just on display as they ended up.

Not much to look at

We spent about an hour and a half there before we started our journey south. Soon we had crossed the border into Tennessee and not long afterwards we passed through a famous city.

Nashville - Home of country music

Soon we stopped for gas. Decided to get some supplies in. The woman behind the counter had a very southern drawl and confused Ann when she said to us 'Doyoowannaaasaaakk'. Ann looked at her bemused whilst I replied no. She was asking us if we wanted a bag. It did, however, provide me with much entertainment for the next hour as I kept asking Ann 'Doyoowannaaasaaakk?'

We headed on south and soon got onto the Natchez Trace Parkway. We didn't really know what it was but we joined it as it took us towards another place we needed to go. In actual fact in turns out it is an old Native American trail which runs from Nashville to Natchez, some 444 miles. It has a lot of historical sites along it and a variety of wildlife. Thought we might have a chance of seeing a bear, but we didn't. Did see some extraordinary spiders webs in the trees.

Large webs

I asked Ann whether she thought that the spiders that spun them were big enough to catch bears and store them in the web. Was told to shut up about spiders.

It wasn't long before we reached our next goal of Alabama. Decided to stop for lunch but had trouble finding somewhere. Eventually found Florence and stopped. The woman behind the counter of Subway was amazed by our accents. Don't think they get many outsiders down that way.

We ate and moved on, eventually we made it into Mississippi. Stopped for the night in Tupelo, the birthplace of The King. Woman on the reception desk asked us where we were from. We said England. She said I knew it was from somewhere that way and pointed yonder.

Had a swim in the hotel pool, unfortunately it was inside which meant we couldn't make use of the sun and the 93 degrees outside.

Popped out for dinner at the Waffle House. It was Ann's idea but as soon as we got there she was regretting it. It was not the most salubrious of locations, but hey ho, we're British and we got on with it. It was fine. Hilarious moment when we ordered. The waitress thought Ann asked for 'Two more toasts' with her scrambled egg, ham and toast. Ann then had to adopt a southern drawl and say 'Tumatetoes'.

Anyhow, now back at the hotel. In a surprise twist, Ann is not watching Harry Potter, however she is watching Jurassic Park 3, which I am sure I have mentioned in past blogs three or five years ago.

Tomorrow we move on, but not too far, we don't even leave the state! Hurrah. Hoping for an outdoor pool.

Day Seven

We have now been here a whole week. It seems to have shot by, but already the first few days seem a long time ago. Strange really.

We got up about 8am. Ann did some Skyping and then we went for breakfast. Packed up and headed south.

Journey was fairly dull. Passed the time by taking photos of odd things. Eventually we drove through Cincinnati.

Cin City

It seemed a fairly tired place with lots of derelict buildings in some areas. It also sits right on the Ohio/Kentucky border, so we moved across into another state. The further we moved into Kentucky the odder it seemed. We saw lots of places advertising Adult Books and Peep Shows or Girls, Girls, Girls. Most looked grimy, dingy places like the one below.




Pussy Galore

The next thing we saw also linked with Pussy Galore, for Kentucky is home to Fort Knox. We drove past and took pictures from the side. You can drive along Bullion Boulevard in front of it, but you are not allowed to take photos along that road, so we saw no point in doing so.

Mr Goldfinger

$337billion worth of gold is supposedly stored in it, although some people reckon there is not one cent worth in there anymore. Who knows? You can't go in like you can at the Federal Reserve in New York. We did that in 2010 and saw more gold than Fort Knox has.

We stopped for lunch at a Subway not long after. Didn't stay long. Carried on south. Took pictures of more weird and wonderful things.

My kind of shop

Eventually we reached our destination of Bowling Green. Checked in and then watched more Harry Potter.

Popped out to IHOP for dinner. Was a fairly forgetful experience. We did get asked where we were from and the waitress said she loved our accents, but she also told us she'd been working almost non stop since Friday. It showed. Ann ordered two blueberry pancakes with banana and scrambled eggs with no bacon. She got two blueberry pancakes, bacon, hash browns and scrambled egg. Ate quickly and left.

Now back watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part two. Getting ready to leave early tomorrow as we have stuff to do before we head even further south. The accents are already very thick here, but they will get a whole lot thicker tomorrow.

Bears seen - 0

Moose watch - low

States visited - 5

Day Six

Went to bed early.  Was awoken at about 2am by an argument going on somewhere. A man and woman shouting at each other, I presumed it was outside the window, but I couldn't be bothered to check. Thought it might end with a gunshot, but it didn't.

Was woken again at 7am by the wall behind our bed being thumped rhythmically. Presumed it was coital activity going on next door, but I couldn't be bothered to check. Thought it might end with a gunshot, but it didn't.

Woke up really late. Ate breakfast in the hotel. We both decided just to have cereal as we had eaten a lot of crap in the last few days. Ate lots of cereal.

Headed out to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Set the sat nav and off we went.

Unfortunately we had a bit of a mare. The sat nav took us to one of the main base entrances not the museum one, although it did say museum when we programmed it. Couldn't find any alternative and we had left the paperwork with the actual address back at the hotel. Had to go back to hotel. Used Wi-Fi in car park to look up the museum website. The address it gave was the same as the sat nav, but it did have alternative one (for a building opposite the entrance) you could use if the sat nav couldn't handle it. Used that one instead. It worked.

When we arrived the car park was very busy. Ended up having to park in Ermington and walk back. Went in. It is a free museum which is incredible considering how big it is. Even with the car park full, there was so much room inside as it takes up three massive hangers.

It was 11am, we had until it closed at 5pm, so decided to start at the beginning and work through. The first hangar was in two sections, origins of flight/WWI and WWII. It was very interesting. We spent a lot of time reading all the exhibits and taking pictures of the planes. There were lots of planes. A lot, lot of planes.

Here are a few of them.

Plane

Plane

Plane

Plane

Big Plane

Two Planes

It was a very thorough section. All sorts of planes and bombs, including a Spitfire, a Messerschmitt, V1 and V2 rockets. Also learnt some interesting facts like that Walt Disney let his animators design insignia for the US Military during WWII for free.

Then all of a sudden we came across something that we didn't know was at the museum, probably the most infamous aircraft of the 20th century. If I tell you it's a B29 bomber called 'Bockscar' you may still be none the wiser. If I tell you it killed 35,000 people and injured 60,000 more, you might have guessed where its target was. It was used in the second and last nuclear attack in history, destroying 44% of Nagasaki.

Bockscar complete with a replica of the Fat Boy bomb it dropped

Now all around the museum it had signs saying don't touch the aircraft, but seeing as this and the Enola Gay are the two most notorious planes on the planet, I felt I could ignore the signs. So I did. Now I can say I have touched the one of the most infamous things of all time. Not often you can say that.

By this time it was about 2pm, so we had spent three hours in the first hangar. The website says to give a whole day to your visit and we were pleased that we had decided to do so. We decided to go and sit in the café and have lunch. It was a good idea as our legs and backs were aching. We discussed that we had noticed that lot of American families had a much older dad with a younger mum, especially those that had oriental wives. Presumed it was because they were all mail order brides.

After lunch we had just over two hours left, so we decided we needed to speed up. We headed to hangar two which housed exhibits from the Korean war and from Vietnam. It included one of the most famous US plane models and pop groups, the B52. It was bloody massive!

Love Shack

We finished off by going into hanger three, the cold war to modern section. Had to whip around it fairly quickly.

Still lots of planes.

More Planes

Did see another iconic plane.

B2 Bomber or Stealth Bomber 

By now time was getting on, so we headed to the shop and then outside to the final handful of planes that are kept outside. Was very hot. Started sweating very quickly, plus it hit 5pm, so headed back to the car to sit in the air conditioning. Decided that it had been a very good day.

Headed back to the hotel, stopping off to get some subs to take back for tea.

Ann is now watching a Harry Potter marathon. Order of the Phoenix and now the Half Blood Prince.

Tomorrow we move on.

Bears seen - 0

Moose Watch - Low

Plane Watch - High

States Visited - 4

Day Five

Actually slept quite a lot, although maybe losing the hour made it seem as though we had slept for longer. Woke to the devastating news that Ermington's cricket match had been called off due to rain. Looked out the window and it wasn't raining. Remembered we were actually somewhere where the weather is nice.

Got up and had breakfast in the hotel. Packed up and hit the road. Ann decided that she wanted to drive. Headed out of Michigan back into Indiana. Nearly got attacked by a crop dusting plane.

I picked a helluva day to quit drinkin'!

Bonus points if you can get the movie from that quote. Paul Knightley will be able to.

Stopped for a quick break. Broke our Dunkin' Donuts duck, having never been there before. It was alright, I had a strawberry iced ring, Ann had something.

Carried on driving, moving into Ohio. Plugged in the iPod and put our 60/70s rock music on as we went. Nothing better than cruising to Creedance Clearwater Revival and Grand Funk Railroad. Went off the beaten track for lunch, driving off piste until we hit Celina. Parked up by the old courthouse. Ate in the Fountain Restaurant. It was ace, old school diner in the heart of the town.

Scrap at the Fountain

As we walked back across the street to the car, I pointed out to Ann that the courthouse looked like the one in Hill Valley in Back to the Future. There was no sign of Doc carrying out weather experiments. Carried on driving south. It was very flat. Listened to K-Mullet radio. Not much more to report on the drive other than we completed it. Arrived in Beavercreek, Dayton, Ohio. This place is just down the road from our hotel.

Crazy name!

Checked in.

Decided to eat yesterday's leftover pizza for tea. Bought some extras from Walmart to go with it. Had a Hershey's dessert. Tasted very much like a 'Birds Eye Lovely' dessert from the 1970/80s. Watched 'Waiting for God' whilst we ate. Thought it was very strange for it to be on American TV.

Ann is now watching Downton Abbey. Bates has just been sentenced to death and Isis is missing.

Bears seen - 0

Moose watch - low

States Visited - 4

Day Four

Time to leave Chicago.

Got up at 7am, out at http://eggsperiencecafe.com/ for breakfast again by 7.40am. I had waffles, Ann had eggs or something. She sat in blueberries and ruined her white shorts.

Back at hotel to pack up by 8.30am, checked out by 9am.

Walked out of hotel, taxi drove past, I looked at it, it stopped. We got in and were back at O'Hare Airport by 9.40am.

Taxi dropped us off right by the Alamo Car Rental office. So far, everything had gone to plan. That didn't last long.

We had booked our car pre holiday and as ever chose a standard SUV. Now both previous times we have ended up with decent size cars, but today we ended up getting the exact one it gives as an example of the size, a Hyundai Sante Fe.

We got in it and within seconds Ann got a paddy on. To sum it up succinctly, she hated the car and couldn't understand why we had it. I tried to point out that it was exactly what we had booked but she didn't want to know. I tried to point out that on both previous occasions we have ended up with bigger cars by luck rather than judgement (In Washington, we got to choose from four different ones that were ready to go out and in Miami they had nothing except a bigger SUV so the guy just said 'It's not the right one, but just take it'). This time however we got the standard SUV we had booked, end of argument.

At this point I offered to get on a plane and fly home to help out. Apparently, that wasn't a helpful solution. By the look in Ann's eye, I could tell that the next twenty five days were going to be hell if I put the car into drive and left the car park.  Eventually I told her if she wanted it changed she needed to go back inside and speak to someone. She did. She came back and said that we could change it if we paid for an upgrade. So, what do you do in this situation??

Answer: get your credit card out and shut up.

I did just that. The two ladies behind the desk were on Ann's side, but seeing as they work for the company presumably they wanted us to throw money at them. However, they also did their best to help us. We paid for a one level upgrade, but they sorted us a two level upgrade car. One of them then went and made their maintenance guys do an oil change on the one they wanted us to have, as we were doing such a long journey. She then had it washed and drove it over personally. Ann hugged them. They asked if they could come on holiday with us. Computer said no.

We got in the car. Ann was no longer in a paddy. She was in a Dodge Durango.

The right car!!

Set the sat nav for Stevensville and away we went. It took us back into Chicago as it felt that was the best route following I90 and I94. What this did mean was that two hours after leaving, we were right back where we started. Traffic was slow. Felt like we were never going to actually be able to get away from the city. An hour later and we were still within the outer reaches of the suburbs. Eventually we managed to break free of the city's force field and into the state of Indiana.

Didn't stay there for long, moving into Michigan and to Stevensville. You can tell when you get to Michigan as the road surfaces are bloody terrible. Arrived at 2pm, although it was now 3pm as we had changed time zones. Checked in, ate left over cheese and biscuits for lunch and then headed out for quiet afternoon.

Went to Jean Klock Park beach on the shore of Lake Michigan. Sat in the warm sun and swam in the warm water. The perfect antidote to two days in Chicago. It did resemble the Alfred Hitchcock film 'The Birds' though. Lots of seagulls all just stood motionless, staring at you. I stared back. Think I won the war of minds.

Eventually we headed off and stopped for dinner on the way back to the hotel. Visited an old favourite from the last time we were in Michigan.

Still Fabulous

Sat in the car and ate it. Ann dropped sauce over her other pair of white shorts. I got sauce on my shirt and the sun visor. Bought stain remover from Walgreens.

Headed home and now sat doing this whilst Ann has been down the launderette cleaning all her shorts.

Just seen another USA shooting massacre on the news, this time in Louisiana. Made us glad that we are literally dipping in and out of the state later on in the trip.

Bears seen - 0

Moose watch - low

Seagull Watch - extremely high

States visited - 3

Day Three

Woke up a bit later this morning, which was good. Told Ann about last night's fire truck activity. She didn't hear any of it, which considering they were right outside the window with the sirens blaring for twenty minutes, says much about how dead to the world she was. Mooched about for a bit longer before heading out for a late breakfast.

Went back to the same place as yesterday, http://eggsperiencecafe.com/ . I had waffles, Ann had something. Saw some guys washing windows via the medium of abseiling. Didn't fancy that as a career.

Headed back to the hotel in order to get ready for the day. Got everything and then headed back to the http://www.coachusa.com/chicagotrolley/ . Caught it down to Willis Tower, where we got off and boarded a different tour. This one took us much further south, via Chinatown and the US Cellular Field (Home of the Chicago White Sox), to the Museum of Science and Industry - http://www.msichicago.org/. The journey took much longer than we were anticipating. We were dying by the time we arrived.

Found our way in and immediately got a drink, before setting off around the place. From our past experience of American museums, we knew to expect a slightly simpler selection of exhibits and labels. Today we learnt some interesting facts, for example, did you know that a tsunami is a big wave? It was ok, not the best museum we've ever been to, but not the worst either.

Did see a vortex.

And this. U505 captured by the US Navy during World War II.

Up Periscope

We had a look at most things before deciding it was time to leave. Caught the trolley tour back to downtown Chicago. Stopped to claim the free t-shirts we got with our two day passes. Walked back to the hotel and then went out for dinner.

Went here. http://www.unos.com/ It is on the corner of our block so not far to travel. It claims to be the home of the deep pan pizza, the first company ever to make it. We both had pizza. It is very deep pan, like a pie with cheese. To be fair, we both weren't particularly keen on the pieness of them.

When we finished we headed down to the Navy Pier for our last Chicago activity. Proved to be the best. Went out on a large speed boat to see the Chicago skyline before returning back to the harbour to watch fireworks. Tried to take pictures, but was very difficult due to darkness and the boat moving. The video came out better.

A great way to round off our stay here. The skyline at dusk was amazing on its own and then to see the fireworks was the icing on the cake.

When we got back on land we had a look at the pier attractions. Saw this.

The big wheel is too big to ride on.

Wandered back to the hotel to start the packing up procedure and to type this. Thought I would show you the hotel lift having mentioned it the other day.

Cover up

Now have The Late Show with James Corden on TV.  As ever, Ann has gone to bed.


Bears seen - 0

Moose Watch - Low

Submarine Watch - High

States Visited - 1

Day Two

Woke up at 6am. Not too bad all things considered. Tried to sleep for longer, didn't really work. Got up at about 8.30am. There was a knock on the door, it was housekeeping. Told them to come back in about an hour and we would be gone. Put on some 60s/70s American rock music and got ready.

As good as our word, we went out at 9.30am. Headed a short distance to this place  http://eggsperiencecafe.com/. Had breakfast -  pancakes with syrup, Ann had scrambled eggs or something. First three pancakes were fine, last one was a struggle.

Headed back to the hotel to get ready to head off across downtown Chicago. Room had not been serviced. Went out again. Bought a two day pass for the Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Bus Co. tour. Caught said bus to our first port of call, The Willis Tower. It used to be the Sears Tower, but now it isn't. Used to be the tallest building in the western hemisphere. Now it isn't. The new WTC 1 in New York has beaten it. Chicagoans seemed annoyed by this.

Walked into the entrance to find that the approximate waiting time to get to the viewing deck was an hour. Seasoned pros like us had already foreseen this and had bought fast track passes in advance. We made it to the 103rd floor in no time. Took photos of the various views across Chicago.

What you talking about, Willis?

The tower has a new feature which we decided to queue for. There are now four glass boxes sticking out from the edge of the tower that you can go and stand in. Whilst queuing, came to the conclusion that people these days don't want to experience anything anymore, they just want a picture of themselves at the experience. Couldn't believe how long we had to wait whilst people took a million photos of themselves and each other doing various crap poses. Of all the people who went and stood out in the box we queued for, only one, a boy of about five, actually looked down. He was utterly transfixed by it and I don't blame him.

When we finally got our turn, we spent most of the time staring down at the gaping drop. We did take a couple of photos, but mainly so we could show you good folk what it was like.

We're Walking in the Air!

As I stepped out onto the glass I was hoping they had built the thing properly. Mum would have loved it!!

After we had had our fill, we headed back down to earth and caught the bus again. Went just one stop before getting off and walking back to the hotel. Nipped to the Subway opposite and bought lunch, then went back to our room to eat it. Room still had not been serviced. Skyped Paul. Knock on the door, it was housekeeping. Said we're going out in a minute, come back in about five and we'll be gone.

Headed out to the Navy Pier. It's a pier. Quite hot in the sun, so sat inside and ate huge ice cream cones. I had chocolate, Ann had something.

Then we made our way to the second major activity of our day, a Segway tour of the waterfront with http://www.chicagosegwaytour.com/. Had to be there for 5.10pm, so we got there just before 5pm. Sat and waited. Filled in a form that basically said if we died or whatever the company were not to blame. Waited for ever. It was meant to start at 5.30pm, hence why you had to be there early to fill in forms and get a bright yellow helmet. People were still arriving at 5.35pm. Man was not happy. Another man who worked there came riding in on a bike quite fast, before turning a corner and falling off. We laughed a lot. Eventually they started the safety stuff and then we got to have a go. Ann was chosen first.

I finally got my own Segway, and when everybody else was up and running we headed on out. Tour lasted nearly two hours. There was the odd bit of trivia but basically it was an excuse to drive a Segway around. Shame we had to follow the bloke really. Our group had one or two incompetent people in it, who seemed to travel very slowly. We stopped for a photo op.

Niles Crane and Daphne.

On the way back, I heard a scream from behind and saw a French girl that was in our group speeding out of control. Luckily she was heading straight at me. She seemed to have forgotten how to stop, so panicked and jumped off. The Segway ploughed into mine. I had seen it coming so was prepared for impact. It was very funny. Man got annoyed with the girl and from then on she had to go at the front with him, the Segway equivalent of the naughty step.

It was great fun and would thoroughly recommend it. Told Ann I want to get my own Segway. She asked why, I said so I could spin around on it.

We eventually finished the tour at 8.10pm, which scuppered our final plan for the evening. We were hoping to head to Lincoln Park to watch a free outdoor screening of Wayne's World, but as we finished late, we couldn't get there in time.

Instead we wandered back home, picking up some cheese and biscuits for tea. When we got back the room had been serviced. Hurrah.

It is now quite late as the computer decided to do some updating so had to wait an age for it to do so.

As ever, Ann is asleep. She has just missed out on this though.

Eventually, they all got back in the trucks and buggered off. Time for bed now.

Bears seen - 0

Moose watch - Low

States Visited - 1