The Big Apple and the end

It's one of those places that many want to see. I have been once and was so looking forward to going again. For Dez this was her first time. Here are the high's and lows from the last leg of our trip:

- staying at the YMCA about 15 steps away from Central Park (no they didn't ask us to do the dance)

- naming our yoga pictures "yoga graffiti"

- more yoga graffiti

- walking through Central Park in the morning

- running through Central Park

- strolling through Central Park at night

- more jumping

- walking through downtown (suit watching on Wall Street)

- mourning the loss at ground zero

- the Highline (an old railway line now converted into a green walking space) 

- having a hotdog in Battery Park

- using the subway (at any given time it is packed)

- having to switch carts on subway due to the most foul (human) smell encounter ever

- being blinded by the lights in Times Square 

- having a delicious pizza and finally some good wine in little Italy

- feeling like we were in asia in Chinatown

- listening to live music in Greenwich

- visiting the Flatiron building

- looking at the Statue of Liberty (being amazed by how small it is) 

- walking across the Brooklyn Bridge

- visiting the Museum of Modern Art (wow)

- drinking the best beer of my life (first time I had one which I would gladly have again)

- losing a down jacket (since I bought it here 5 years ago, perhaps that's an appropriate ending)

- buying glam leather jackets dirt cheap (sold by an excellent salesman from Trinidad who at some point said "who cares if you are cold, if you look hot")

- watching a baseball game (hotdog and all), those boys are so cute in their stretchy pj's 

- saying goodbye to America

- the end

All in all it was a fantastic trip we had some high high's and few-to-no lows. 6 flights, 5400 kms, 10 States, 20+ motel rooms, 60+ beers, 20+ dance floors, 10 new friends, ? new stuff, 100 laughs, and 11 blogs!

We laughed, we danced, we drank, we jumped, we posed, we slept, we ate, we breathed, we cried, we moved, we blushed, we flirted, we missed, we lost, we won, but most of all we had us some fun! 

To have in life a friend with which to experience something like this is an honour and gift! 

Thanks Dez for creating with me some memories that will last a life time. Here's to many more we will gather together!

"Nawlins" (New Orleans)

This was the first time during our trip where we got to stay with someone local thanks to a friend made along the way (Rick - famous for creating Ricky-O-Ritas). After a few days in the laid-back hills of Texas we were ready for some fun. Here are some highs and not-so-highs:

- being welcomed to Nawlins by Chip and Brandon who were 5 star hosts and tour guides

- going out 3 nights in a row until after 2am each time

- pulling an all-nighter on the last night

- listening to some great live music (including the likes of Richard Scott and Kevin Smith)

- drinking a Hurricane

- walking around the beautiful French Quarter with its amazing plant and flower littered patios

- walking along a stinky Bourbon street

- having a drink in one of the original bars, which used to be a blacksmith so no electricity, only candle light

- going to the New Orleans Museum of Art

- eating crawfish (miniture lobsters - less meat than a prawn)

- wondering who to put a hex on

- meeting interesting new people

- making good new friends

- getting happy birthday sung to me by a brass band (we milked this birthday angle)

- getting a birthday hug from Seth Rogan (ok, so maybe he was just saying happy birthday and I went in for the hug)

- learning more american, wait until we are back and you can hear us say classics like: "let's saddle up to the bar and get ourselves liquored up y'all"

- riding the electric car "tram"

- having a delicious lunch (which included Catfish and fried chicken) at "Dooky Chase's", around since 1941 and the place Obama goes when in town

- getting the flu

- dancing

- enjoying a delicious plate of biscuits and grits for breakfast at a place where you had to give in a famous persons name which would get shouted out when your table was ready

- leaving for New York

- saying goodbye to Red Rocket (our faithful and amazing car) and Round-about Robin (our sometimes annoying but most useful GPS)

Texas baby, where everything is bigger

After a great few days in Heuco, we headed north-east to Austin, the live music capital of the world after which we headed further north into the heart of Texas to watch a real rodeo. Here are some high's and not-so-highs from that time:

Yeah! this sign was followed by several saying "Don't mess with Texas" and stating the fines for littering

- eating a chocolate covered banana in a small German town in the heart of Texas

- thinking we were running out of petrol and driving 50kms without air-con just in case (it was more than fine)

- staying in a hostel

- watching the sun set over the river and city of Austin while lying on the jetty 

- going to listen to some great live music in Austin

- dancing on the roof top to live country music 

- discovering that vodka and lemonade was half the price of a beer (both a

 good and bad thing)

- eating more good Mexican food

- riding a mechanical bull (with our friend Naureen in mind) 

- saying it was my birthday to jump queues (we've decided to make it my birthday trip so Dez says it's my birthday at suitable times)

- discovering that a 3-level dance floor means one dance floor with stairs going up two levels to the "restrooms"

- learning that making eye contact with a base player in a band is pointless since they never come off stage to chat to you

- arriving at the hostel after 2am and after a brief scan of the dorm doing a little dance while singing out loud "we have the dorm to ourselves" only to hear someone begin to moan and groan beneath a pile of blankets

- driving through the hills of Texas

-  arriving in the friendly Athens

 - watching cowboys ride wild horses

- watching cowboys ride bulls

- watching cowboys jump off their horses to catch a calf

- watching cowboys team up to lasso calves

- watching cowboys sit on the railings

- watching future cowboys and cowgirls try to catch the ribbon off a calf (there were about 100 kids, it was hilarious)

- watching cowboys

- taking the long 7 hour drive to New Orleans (or as the locals say "Nawlins")

- stopping for a Texas size steak and a BBQ sandwich along the way 

- one last jump in Texas outside the quirky  lunch stop

- saying goodbye to Texas and hello to Louisiana

Hueco Tanks, a world class bouldering venue (and party hub)

We eventually left Vegas and began the very long journey south-east to Hueco Tanks. It is a world renowned bouldering venue and we wanted to see what it was all about. Here are some highs and not-so-highs of this section of the trip:

- staying in a dodgy motel on the way 

- seeing a few cattle factories (too many cows for the amount of space)

- stocking up at Walmart and finding a cute dress and short shorts for the warm weather ahead

- being welcomed by three cute climbers at Hueco 

- being the only women around (this has high and low aspects to it)

- being amazed by Hueco Tanks a huge amount of boulders in an otherwise flat and dry place

- being blown away by the number and quality of the bouldering problems (one section has over 3000 problems)

- going bouldering with a group of psyched climbers 

- realising that some of them hadn't showered in days (one admitted it had been 2 weeks since his last shower)

- bouldering (including a real high-ball)

- sitting around talking nonsense with the boys

- teaching the Americans words like "bakkie" instead of "truck"

- some more yoga poses

- complaining that the local beers and ciders don't have enough alcohol 

- being fed "ricky-o-ritas" as a result of the previous comment (made with authentic Mexican tequila - Dez has the recipe)

- having a party around the bonfire

- burning a couch (it was old and extremely dirty, it had to go) 

- playing Foosball (table soccer) and ping-pong (the guys took ping-pong seriously)

- staying in the house Todd Skinner built with some help from Fred Nicole (both extremely well known climbers)

- saying goodbye

- taking an unintended detour and finding some aliens 

Vegas...what a trip

After 4 nights of rough camping, we were ready to pretty ourselves up and be back in civilisation. Las Vegas gave us that and more. Here are some of our highs and not-so's

- being in a place where the weather is warm

- getting a relatively cheap room in the famous Circus-Circus hotel 

- getting to put on a dress (for Dez - I thought my skirt was too short)

- realising that my skirt was very long in comparison to what the girls that work in Vegas wear (they wouldn't pass Desiree's shirt/skirt test - if you lift your arms up and it goes too high it's a shirt)

- being amazed by the diversity of people 

- Yoga in the streets of Vegas

- seeing people gambling in a petrol station shop

- jealously watching people walk around with drinks in their hands at any time of day

- being invited to the Mirage night club and offered free drinks

- dancing the night away

- being wow'ed by what Dez appropriately named the OTT (Over The Top) buildings

- eating a decent lunch

- seeing limo hummers (it's pink!!!!)

- shopping

- a tiny bit of gambling (the house took our money) 

- discovering that staying an extra night in the same room would cost us 3 times what we paid (rates go up in the weekend)

- being told our hotel was considered "ghetto"

- leaving Las Vegas

Wild Geese

I love this...

Wild Geese

by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes, 

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, 

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting  

over and over announcing your place 

in the family of things.

Via

© Mary Oliver

Moab...highlight of the trip thus far

There aren't many words that can describe how incredibly wonderous and beautiful Moab is. It simply should be on everyone's to-do list, especially if you admire natural splendor. Here are a few of our highs:

- driving through the red-brown canyons that surround Moab

- camping for 3 nights along the rocks with the bare necessities

- driving through the Canyonland National Park with its majestic views and yet unexplained crater 

- realising that Americans have not yet discovered 1-ply toilet paper (even in campsites)

- getting to hear a musician named Lou play amazing guitar by the camp fire

- falling in love with Lou's dog "Ruby" 

- going 3 nights without a shower (a low for anyone within smelling distance)

- getting amazing 4-day unwashed bed-hair  

- seeing the local rock art

- finding the sport climbing spot with the shortest walk-in in the world (literally 1 meter from the car)

- despite the short walk-in, the climbing was scary enough to convert Dez to trad climbing

- taking time to meditate

- being disappointed by misleading signs

- finding out that Desiree's new tent works 

- discovering that a 6 pack of beer at the shops costs the same as one in a bar

- walking to delicate arch (a breath-taking view) 

- getting on TV

- seeing a wedding party wearing hiking shoes to go take pics at the Delicate Arch

- seeing a double-cab "truck" (bukkie) pulling a 10 meter long trailer, with a Jeep (Discovery) towed behind

- more yoga and jump pics

 

- enjoying the excellent and friendly service everywhere we go

- bouldering on the fallen rocks from the red faces high above 

- saying goodbye to Moab (low point)
- listening to country music on the radio (a high)
- almost crying at the lyrics of country music (a low)