Drive of the day (map):
Last full day in the United States, for now. We have found our way to a small airport hotel next to Baltimore Washington International Airport. The car has been completely emptied and we are more or less done with all packing. We are ready to leave the country that has hosted us for good and bad the last 30 days... and we are all looking forward to getting home..
We have spent the last day doing some last minute shopping - all with different needs - and another college football game. This time the less fancy University of Michigan versus Duke. Pretty fun, but not as cool as the Michigan game.
All in all a pretty relaxing last day in the states...
I will do some more blog posts when I get back to Norway. Here are some of the topics that might be discussed to some degree...
1) What have we learnt about the United States
2) How do we perceive the United States after this trip
3) Evaluation of the road trip - success/failure?
4) Sverres ten tips for a great road trip
5) Eating you way through america
6) Suggestions???
søndag 3. oktober 2010
lørdag 2. oktober 2010
Photo summary
Here are the links for all photos again:
Photos have been added to the albums almost every day:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=518575&id=657165614 (194 pics)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=526493&id=657165614 (194 pics)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=544766&id=657165614 (190 pics)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=545560&id=657165614 (160 pics)
Thanks to Erlend for great photos and being a true paparazzi
Photos have been added to the albums almost every day:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=518575&id=657165614 (194 pics)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=526493&id=657165614 (194 pics)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=544766&id=657165614 (190 pics)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=545560&id=657165614 (160 pics)
Thanks to Erlend for great photos and being a true paparazzi
Day 29: Last day of sightseeing...
Our last day of sightseeing! Tomorrow is set of for last minute shopping and University of Maryland vs. Duke in football....and then we are off.
Washington DC is different from New York in oh so many ways. While New York is fast paced with lots and lots of tall buildings and crowded streets - Washington DC is more greek/roman inspired with plenty of monumental buildings and memorials. Walking through the Mall - great place - gives you in some ways the same feeling you get walking through Rome (only that the Mall has a short and rather insignificant history compared to Rome).
Most of the monuments and memorials were larger than we actually had anticipated. The Washington Monument is one tall obelisk, Lincoln is pretty big sitting in his chair at the Lincoln Memorial, the are 760 000 graves at Arlington Cemetary and the Iwo Jima Memorial (the guys with the flag) was freakishly large (the only thing smaller than expected was the White House). Only thing about walking around seeing all these monuments is that your feet start to hurt... but again we were extremely lucky with the weather. There were no longer any remnants of tropical storm Nicole and the sun were yet again out and shining. Could in no way ask for better weather for sightseeing...
After doing our tourist obligation and seeing all the sights we god some food at M&S Grill downtown. The food was decent, but we got the worst service ever - and tipped an impressive $1,16 - in small coins :p
The recommendation of the day is to go and watch The Social Network. It is a fun, entertaining movie that gives your the story of the founding of Facebook. Good young actors and a well written script makes us all agree that this is the best movie of 2010 so far. Run to the movie theater.
Washington DC is different from New York in oh so many ways. While New York is fast paced with lots and lots of tall buildings and crowded streets - Washington DC is more greek/roman inspired with plenty of monumental buildings and memorials. Walking through the Mall - great place - gives you in some ways the same feeling you get walking through Rome (only that the Mall has a short and rather insignificant history compared to Rome).
Most of the monuments and memorials were larger than we actually had anticipated. The Washington Monument is one tall obelisk, Lincoln is pretty big sitting in his chair at the Lincoln Memorial, the are 760 000 graves at Arlington Cemetary and the Iwo Jima Memorial (the guys with the flag) was freakishly large (the only thing smaller than expected was the White House). Only thing about walking around seeing all these monuments is that your feet start to hurt... but again we were extremely lucky with the weather. There were no longer any remnants of tropical storm Nicole and the sun were yet again out and shining. Could in no way ask for better weather for sightseeing...
After doing our tourist obligation and seeing all the sights we god some food at M&S Grill downtown. The food was decent, but we got the worst service ever - and tipped an impressive $1,16 - in small coins :p
The recommendation of the day is to go and watch The Social Network. It is a fun, entertaining movie that gives your the story of the founding of Facebook. Good young actors and a well written script makes us all agree that this is the best movie of 2010 so far. Run to the movie theater.
Day 28: Eating grasshoppers
Drive of the day (map):
Today it is raining - it is actually storming outside. Tropical storm Nicole made us chill in Frederick until check-out time and she also made the drive to Washington DC a little boring and slow. I couldn't do my usual speeding so it took a little longer than expected.
We did, after some skilful driving and a few wrong turns, find out way to the hotel - and were pleasently surprised of the standard of it. Courtyard by Marriot in Washington DC can be recommended.
The rain did stop us from doing much though. A short walk in the early afternoon - and then at night Simon and I left Erlend at the hotel to meet up with an old friend from Cairo, Angelica. We met up at this hip mexican restaurant downtown and I was stupid enough to try to eat grasshopper - it taste like crap - not recommmended...
Today it is raining - it is actually storming outside. Tropical storm Nicole made us chill in Frederick until check-out time and she also made the drive to Washington DC a little boring and slow. I couldn't do my usual speeding so it took a little longer than expected.
We did, after some skilful driving and a few wrong turns, find out way to the hotel - and were pleasently surprised of the standard of it. Courtyard by Marriot in Washington DC can be recommended.
The rain did stop us from doing much though. A short walk in the early afternoon - and then at night Simon and I left Erlend at the hotel to meet up with an old friend from Cairo, Angelica. We met up at this hip mexican restaurant downtown and I was stupid enough to try to eat grasshopper - it taste like crap - not recommmended...
torsdag 30. september 2010
Day 27: ...of the people, by the people, for the people
Drive of the day (map)
Probably the most famous part of Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address - the speach he gave shortly after the three day battle at Gettysburg. And a sentence that is used to define a democracy. On the 27th day of our trip we found ourselves in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
After yet another eggs and bacon breakfast we left amish territory and headed for Gettysburg. Just a short one hour drive away from Lancaster. At first we got a little disappointed when we walked around the battlefield and saw that the museum and visitor center was closed - but we soon (or at least after 30 minutes) found out that it was the OLD visitor center that was closed... So we drove the short distance to the new center and was not disappointed.
The museum part of the center is ok - nothing special really, but they do have a great movie explaining the cause of the civil war, the war itself and the aftermath. The fact that it was narrated by Morgan Freeman didn't hurt either. After the movie we all saw our first cyclorama. A cyclorama is a panoramic painting on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to provide a viewer standing in the middle of the cylinder with a 360° view of the painting. The intended effect is to make a viewer, surrounded by the panoramic image, feel as if they were standing in the midst of a historic event or famous place. It was really cool. And the enhance the feeling of being there they use light, sound and even some props in front of the cyclorama. It was really worth the trip itself. What we thought was a modern painting was actually a painting from 1883 - and the artist had used 4 tons of oil paint....
After Gettysburg we didn't really have any plans so we drove to the smallish town of Frederick, Maryland. We checked in at yet another Days Inn, played some basketball, ate and did some shopping...
Probably the most famous part of Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address - the speach he gave shortly after the three day battle at Gettysburg. And a sentence that is used to define a democracy. On the 27th day of our trip we found ourselves in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
After yet another eggs and bacon breakfast we left amish territory and headed for Gettysburg. Just a short one hour drive away from Lancaster. At first we got a little disappointed when we walked around the battlefield and saw that the museum and visitor center was closed - but we soon (or at least after 30 minutes) found out that it was the OLD visitor center that was closed... So we drove the short distance to the new center and was not disappointed.
The museum part of the center is ok - nothing special really, but they do have a great movie explaining the cause of the civil war, the war itself and the aftermath. The fact that it was narrated by Morgan Freeman didn't hurt either. After the movie we all saw our first cyclorama. A cyclorama is a panoramic painting on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to provide a viewer standing in the middle of the cylinder with a 360° view of the painting. The intended effect is to make a viewer, surrounded by the panoramic image, feel as if they were standing in the midst of a historic event or famous place. It was really cool. And the enhance the feeling of being there they use light, sound and even some props in front of the cyclorama. It was really worth the trip itself. What we thought was a modern painting was actually a painting from 1883 - and the artist had used 4 tons of oil paint....
After Gettysburg we didn't really have any plans so we drove to the smallish town of Frederick, Maryland. We checked in at yet another Days Inn, played some basketball, ate and did some shopping...
onsdag 29. september 2010
Day 26: The city of brotherly love
Drive of the day: (map)
The drive from King of Prussia to Philadelphia is pretty short - and after some less than skillful driving through the streets of Philadelphia we found some parking downtown. Philadelphia is the sixth most populous city in the United States (on the trip we've visited 1st (New York), 3rd (Chicago) and 6th (Philadelphia)).
Philadelphia was the first capital (1790-1800) of the United States and the home of the signings of both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. On our short trip to Philly we visisted both the Liberty Bell (no we did not lick it) and the House of Independence (no we did not visit the roof).
After getting a short lecture in history at the House of Independence we went over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. So you must be thinking - finally some culture - but alas... that's not why we went there. The stairs in front of the museum is more famous than the museum itself - and that is only because of the Rocky. These are the famous stairs from the movie - and Erlend had to do a remake....
Philly was pretty cool, but our next goal was Intercourse. Not that type of intercourse, but the Amish city of Intercourse. We saw lot's of people driving carriages and having strange outfits - it kind of felt like driving into a different time period - at least if it had not been so commercialized...
The drive from King of Prussia to Philadelphia is pretty short - and after some less than skillful driving through the streets of Philadelphia we found some parking downtown. Philadelphia is the sixth most populous city in the United States (on the trip we've visited 1st (New York), 3rd (Chicago) and 6th (Philadelphia)).
Philadelphia was the first capital (1790-1800) of the United States and the home of the signings of both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. On our short trip to Philly we visisted both the Liberty Bell (no we did not lick it) and the House of Independence (no we did not visit the roof).
After getting a short lecture in history at the House of Independence we went over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. So you must be thinking - finally some culture - but alas... that's not why we went there. The stairs in front of the museum is more famous than the museum itself - and that is only because of the Rocky. These are the famous stairs from the movie - and Erlend had to do a remake....
Philly was pretty cool, but our next goal was Intercourse. Not that type of intercourse, but the Amish city of Intercourse. We saw lot's of people driving carriages and having strange outfits - it kind of felt like driving into a different time period - at least if it had not been so commercialized...
Day 25: King of Prussia
Drive of the day: (map)
So we left New York pretty early in the morning - this time heading for Pennsylvania. After a quick check on weather.com we decided to spend another day shopping - this time at the biggest mall in the United States, King of Prussia Mall.
We drove through New Jersey and hit both the New Jersey and the Pennsylvania turnpike on the way. The mall is in a small city called King of Prussia - a city named after the former ruler of Prussia, Fredrick II. The mall itself was pretty crappy, although I managet to get a haircut.
I must admit that we are getting a little tired of being tourists and we are doing less and less. We checked in at the local Holiday Inn went to the local Hooters and watched the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers (yeah!)
So we left New York pretty early in the morning - this time heading for Pennsylvania. After a quick check on weather.com we decided to spend another day shopping - this time at the biggest mall in the United States, King of Prussia Mall.
We drove through New Jersey and hit both the New Jersey and the Pennsylvania turnpike on the way. The mall is in a small city called King of Prussia - a city named after the former ruler of Prussia, Fredrick II. The mall itself was pretty crappy, although I managet to get a haircut.
I must admit that we are getting a little tired of being tourists and we are doing less and less. We checked in at the local Holiday Inn went to the local Hooters and watched the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers (yeah!)
mandag 27. september 2010
Day 24: Wall street shopping
We did not see any real sights today....
All we did were a lot of shopping in a lot of different stores. I can strongly recommend walking up Broadway through Soho if you want to get some shopping done - you can probably find anything you need, and do not need, there...
We did go to a movie theater in the evening and saw the new Wall Street movie - stay away, it is not worth watching....
All we did were a lot of shopping in a lot of different stores. I can strongly recommend walking up Broadway through Soho if you want to get some shopping done - you can probably find anything you need, and do not need, there...
We did go to a movie theater in the evening and saw the new Wall Street movie - stay away, it is not worth watching....
Day 23: Kane vs The Undertaker
Another day, plenty of new stuff to do...
We started of the day by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge - and I were a little surprised by how the area was a lot cooler on the Brooklyn side. The Manhattan side of the bridge were resembled down Houston - unpersonal and a lot of "cold", big buildings. For people going to New York I would absolutely recommend walking (or bike) across the bridge.
If you walk passed all the big buildings (City Hall, NYPD, Justice court and so on) you get to Chinatown and Little Italy. It is not like the movies. Chinatown in New York is like other Chinatowns I have visited. A lot of crappy small shops selling things you do not need and a lot of nice small restaurants. Little Italy is nothing like Italy, but at least we got to see some sort of parade. Walking around on Manhattan on a Saturday is a challenge in itself - there is so much people....
The main attraction of the day was WWE World Smackdown Tour i Madison Square Garden. WWE står for World Wrestling Entertainment and is exactly what you think it is. It is what Hulk Hogan did, it is what former governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, did and it is was an old favorite The Undertaker is still doing. I remember watching wrestling on Sky One back in the day. Wrestling was a strange, but pretty cool thing. It is probably the event we've been to in New York with the best atmosphere. Lot better than the Yankees game and better than the Rangers game. It was quite different though. And the crowd was pretty young - it seems like the perfect thing to bring your kids to - if you do not mind the violence...
We started of the day by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge - and I were a little surprised by how the area was a lot cooler on the Brooklyn side. The Manhattan side of the bridge were resembled down Houston - unpersonal and a lot of "cold", big buildings. For people going to New York I would absolutely recommend walking (or bike) across the bridge.
If you walk passed all the big buildings (City Hall, NYPD, Justice court and so on) you get to Chinatown and Little Italy. It is not like the movies. Chinatown in New York is like other Chinatowns I have visited. A lot of crappy small shops selling things you do not need and a lot of nice small restaurants. Little Italy is nothing like Italy, but at least we got to see some sort of parade. Walking around on Manhattan on a Saturday is a challenge in itself - there is so much people....
The main attraction of the day was WWE World Smackdown Tour i Madison Square Garden. WWE står for World Wrestling Entertainment and is exactly what you think it is. It is what Hulk Hogan did, it is what former governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, did and it is was an old favorite The Undertaker is still doing. I remember watching wrestling on Sky One back in the day. Wrestling was a strange, but pretty cool thing. It is probably the event we've been to in New York with the best atmosphere. Lot better than the Yankees game and better than the Rangers game. It was quite different though. And the crowd was pretty young - it seems like the perfect thing to bring your kids to - if you do not mind the violence...
lørdag 25. september 2010
Day 22: Chillin' in Central Park
Another day of New York is over, and it was another day of many impressions...
Central Park is, in my oppinion, the coolest place we've seen so far on the trip. What other place can you find such an awesome green lung in the middle of such a large city. With great lawns the size of ten soccer fields and open access this must be the perfect place for sporty New Yorkers to relax in the afternoons.
We brought our small pee wee football and chilled in the park most of the day. What you can see in the park isn't that special, but it is the fact where it is that makes it awesome. And with the temperatures we are getting (sunny and 25-30 degrees) it is pretty nice to just lay down on the grass and relax, or throw the ball around a little.
Just next to Central Park lies the American Museum of Natural History (made more known in Norway in the movie "night at the museum"). We all agree that the museum was disappointing. The museum lacks a structure that makes it easy for us as visitors to see the big picture. As a historian it is all good seeing objects from different cultures in different time periods, but it would be nice to actually see how cultures in different regions progressed alongside each other and so on... so lots of cool objects, but no structure.
Our second New York sporting event were the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees could stay ahead of Tampa Bay in the race for the first seed in the playoffs, but got thrashed by the arch rival Red Sox. Erlend saw a baseball game in Texas and I've seen quite a few over the years, but it was Simons first. He thought it was cool, but it would have been more fun hadn't the Yankees been down 10-1 after the fifth inning...
We ended of the night with a couple of Heineckens and some shrimp at Bubba Shrimp (the tourist trap) on Times Square....
Central Park is, in my oppinion, the coolest place we've seen so far on the trip. What other place can you find such an awesome green lung in the middle of such a large city. With great lawns the size of ten soccer fields and open access this must be the perfect place for sporty New Yorkers to relax in the afternoons.
We brought our small pee wee football and chilled in the park most of the day. What you can see in the park isn't that special, but it is the fact where it is that makes it awesome. And with the temperatures we are getting (sunny and 25-30 degrees) it is pretty nice to just lay down on the grass and relax, or throw the ball around a little.
Just next to Central Park lies the American Museum of Natural History (made more known in Norway in the movie "night at the museum"). We all agree that the museum was disappointing. The museum lacks a structure that makes it easy for us as visitors to see the big picture. As a historian it is all good seeing objects from different cultures in different time periods, but it would be nice to actually see how cultures in different regions progressed alongside each other and so on... so lots of cool objects, but no structure.
Our second New York sporting event were the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees could stay ahead of Tampa Bay in the race for the first seed in the playoffs, but got thrashed by the arch rival Red Sox. Erlend saw a baseball game in Texas and I've seen quite a few over the years, but it was Simons first. He thought it was cool, but it would have been more fun hadn't the Yankees been down 10-1 after the fifth inning...
We ended of the night with a couple of Heineckens and some shrimp at Bubba Shrimp (the tourist trap) on Times Square....
Day 21: A long day in New York
Who knew that a day could feel so long...
Our second complete day in New York started off pretty slowly. Got up a little late, ate some cereal/crackers with cheese for breakfast, and went to the local laundromat to clean clothes. The lady running the place were helpful, but didn't think we were very economical (using a $5,50 machine when all we needed was a $1,99). But in the end we got outselves some clean clothes.
We didn't really have anything big planned for the early afternoon so we took the subway to Time Square and planned to have no plans. Time Square is as american as you can get it. Large, oversized video billboards advertising everything from new tv shows, movies and all kind of merchendise. We even got to see a live performance by N.E.R.D. (Pharrel Williams' group) - the performed at the middle of Time Square as part of some Honda campaign. After checking that out we pretty much wanted to walk around for some hours getting the feel of Manhattan. We saw Rockefeller Plaze, Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Terminal, Empire State Building, Flatiron Building, The New York Public Library and SO much more. At the end we chilled down at a bar waiting for the hockeygame we were going to at night.
The hockeygame was pretty intense. The New York Rangers beat their big rivals the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in overtime - and we even got to watch Mats Zuccarello Aasens debut in the NHL. He did alright without making a real difference. But I think we all thougt it was pretty fun watching a game of hockey at Madison Square Garden - the self-titled "most famous sports arena in the world".
After the game we walked over to Empire State Building and took the elevator up to check the view. Pretty spectacular...
Our second complete day in New York started off pretty slowly. Got up a little late, ate some cereal/crackers with cheese for breakfast, and went to the local laundromat to clean clothes. The lady running the place were helpful, but didn't think we were very economical (using a $5,50 machine when all we needed was a $1,99). But in the end we got outselves some clean clothes.
We didn't really have anything big planned for the early afternoon so we took the subway to Time Square and planned to have no plans. Time Square is as american as you can get it. Large, oversized video billboards advertising everything from new tv shows, movies and all kind of merchendise. We even got to see a live performance by N.E.R.D. (Pharrel Williams' group) - the performed at the middle of Time Square as part of some Honda campaign. After checking that out we pretty much wanted to walk around for some hours getting the feel of Manhattan. We saw Rockefeller Plaze, Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Terminal, Empire State Building, Flatiron Building, The New York Public Library and SO much more. At the end we chilled down at a bar waiting for the hockeygame we were going to at night.
The hockeygame was pretty intense. The New York Rangers beat their big rivals the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in overtime - and we even got to watch Mats Zuccarello Aasens debut in the NHL. He did alright without making a real difference. But I think we all thougt it was pretty fun watching a game of hockey at Madison Square Garden - the self-titled "most famous sports arena in the world".
After the game we walked over to Empire State Building and took the elevator up to check the view. Pretty spectacular...
fredag 24. september 2010
Photos2
A new link for all our friends on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=544766&id=657165614&ref=mf
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=544766&id=657165614&ref=mf
torsdag 23. september 2010
Day 20: The New Colossus
""Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"
Emma Lazarus
So today we have visited one of the most famous statues in the world: The Statue of Liberty. The trip from the southern tip of Manhattan out to Liberty Island is just a short ferry ride - and you get great views of New Yorks skyline from the boat. For anybody considering going to New York in the near future be sure to order your trip to the Statue of Liberty ahead of time. It is no problem getting to the island, but to get inside the statue you have to have pre-ordered your ticket (for the crown you might have to order a year in advance). We only had tickets to the lower inside of the statue, but that itself was pretty cool...
After the statue we took the ferry over to Ellis Island. This is where most early immigrants had to pass through to get access to the United States. It is pretty much a museum that shows you the history and the process around passing immigration in the early 20th century. Ellis Island was a little disappointing (I think), but it was worth a short visit.
The rest of the early afternoon we spent walking around the southern part of Manhattan. We walked through Soho without even knowing we walked through it - and we ate lunch in Greenwich Village. You get a little jaded from walking around all day - so we took the subway back to our "cozy" neighbourhood. Even though our "hood" isn't all that nice we drove down to another part of Brooklyn that was a lot nicer - we even found a good sheesha (water pipe) where we got to see the last 20 minutes of the Chelsea-Newcastle game... Good fun.
We finished the day off by letting Simon beat us (or closer to kill us) in bowling and a decent work out at our gym..
Night y'all
onsdag 22. september 2010
Day 19: New York New York
We have arrived in New York!
Denny's have become our new number one breakfast place. For the third time in a row we grabbed some egg, toast and bacon/fruit at one of the chains restaurants. It's a good way to start of the day.
So the only stop we had on the way to New York from Syracuse were at Orange County Choppers headquarters in Newburgh. Although Simon and I haven't really seen all too much of the show (Erlend has) it was pretty cool. It was neat seeing how they manage to tell a story with a bike, and how they incorporate their theme in all aspects of the bikes.
Then we drove on to the big apple. After a more or less planned sightseeing through Manhattan we found our hotel in a pretty crappy part of town. We were all pretty disappointed in both the size of the room and the area we lived in, but we'll make the best out of it.
On a good note Simon and I found a gym to work out at. It was pretty cool and had all the stuff we need to do the same kind of workouts as we do back in Norway. Oh happy day. Lazy days are over :)
Denny's have become our new number one breakfast place. For the third time in a row we grabbed some egg, toast and bacon/fruit at one of the chains restaurants. It's a good way to start of the day.
So the only stop we had on the way to New York from Syracuse were at Orange County Choppers headquarters in Newburgh. Although Simon and I haven't really seen all too much of the show (Erlend has) it was pretty cool. It was neat seeing how they manage to tell a story with a bike, and how they incorporate their theme in all aspects of the bikes.
Then we drove on to the big apple. After a more or less planned sightseeing through Manhattan we found our hotel in a pretty crappy part of town. We were all pretty disappointed in both the size of the room and the area we lived in, but we'll make the best out of it.
On a good note Simon and I found a gym to work out at. It was pretty cool and had all the stuff we need to do the same kind of workouts as we do back in Norway. Oh happy day. Lazy days are over :)
tirsdag 21. september 2010
Day 18: Niagara Falls
Dagens rute: (kart)
We've been to Canada and it smells like poo.
After a short drive from Tonawanda to Niagara falls we checked out the most famous waterfall in the world. Niagara falls that lie across the Niagara river between the United States and Canada are actually worth the drive. We took a short boat ride to the bottom of the falls, got pretty wet, and walked over to Canada. The view of the falls are a lot better from that side of the border, but it is a total tourist trap. Even though most of the booths selling all kinds of stuff were closed down - it wasn't really anything worth seeing except for the view of the falls.
After having no problems crossing the border back to the US, we drove on towards New York. Our plan was to get as close to New York as possible, but we failed.. We only got to the college town of Syracuse 4-5 hours north of New York City.
The main reason for this was that we wanted to do something physical. We found ourselves a Days Inn (our favorite crappy motell) and started looking for a basketball court. We found one in what might have been a sketchy neighbourhood - and played basketball for some hours. Both Lie and Simon had plenty of wins - I lost them all :( - funniest part about this though were the small kids playing on the other half of the court. I don't think we have ever heard more swearing in such a short time (I'm going to tell mom motherf*****)..
Rest of the evening we just chilled - ate at Chili's - and watched "The Town" at the local movie theater. Do not go to see it. Ben Affleck should never give himself dialog again...
We've been to Canada and it smells like poo.
After a short drive from Tonawanda to Niagara falls we checked out the most famous waterfall in the world. Niagara falls that lie across the Niagara river between the United States and Canada are actually worth the drive. We took a short boat ride to the bottom of the falls, got pretty wet, and walked over to Canada. The view of the falls are a lot better from that side of the border, but it is a total tourist trap. Even though most of the booths selling all kinds of stuff were closed down - it wasn't really anything worth seeing except for the view of the falls.
After having no problems crossing the border back to the US, we drove on towards New York. Our plan was to get as close to New York as possible, but we failed.. We only got to the college town of Syracuse 4-5 hours north of New York City.
The main reason for this was that we wanted to do something physical. We found ourselves a Days Inn (our favorite crappy motell) and started looking for a basketball court. We found one in what might have been a sketchy neighbourhood - and played basketball for some hours. Both Lie and Simon had plenty of wins - I lost them all :( - funniest part about this though were the small kids playing on the other half of the court. I don't think we have ever heard more swearing in such a short time (I'm going to tell mom motherf*****)..
Rest of the evening we just chilled - ate at Chili's - and watched "The Town" at the local movie theater. Do not go to see it. Ben Affleck should never give himself dialog again...
mandag 20. september 2010
Day 17: We miss Norwegian taco!
Dagens rute: (kart)
A day of nothing...
We didn't have much planned for today. Slept in a little bit and god up to see Manchester United against Liverpool on tv. ESPN obviously don't know anything about soccer, they didn't show the game, so we had to stream it via atdhe.net. I was happy with the result, a 3-2 United win, but Erlend was not :)
After that we drove from Ann Arbor to Tonawanda (a small city just by Niagara Falls). On the way we ate mexican food at a mexican restaurant close to the road. After the meal the only thing we realised was that we were going to burp bad mexican all day - and that norwegian tacos is the only true tacos for norwegians.
At the moment we are all being interactive on our computers at the Days Inn in Tonawanda and watching New York Giants getting killed by the Indianapolis Colts....
A day of nothing...
We didn't have much planned for today. Slept in a little bit and god up to see Manchester United against Liverpool on tv. ESPN obviously don't know anything about soccer, they didn't show the game, so we had to stream it via atdhe.net. I was happy with the result, a 3-2 United win, but Erlend was not :)
After that we drove from Ann Arbor to Tonawanda (a small city just by Niagara Falls). On the way we ate mexican food at a mexican restaurant close to the road. After the meal the only thing we realised was that we were going to burp bad mexican all day - and that norwegian tacos is the only true tacos for norwegians.
At the moment we are all being interactive on our computers at the Days Inn in Tonawanda and watching New York Giants getting killed by the Indianapolis Colts....
Day 16: Go Wolverines!
University of Michigang - University of Massachusetts 42-37
Even though we got a little rain early in the morning - it was the perfect day for football.
We met up with our Canadian friends a little over 8 in the morning and got a ride from them down to the stadium (with a short stop for beer and meats). For Simon and Erlend this would be their introduction to the great american tradition of tailgating. In few words it's the american excuse to meet up outside the stadium three hours before kickoff to drink beer, barbeque some hot dogs and burgers and have fun. It creates a great atmosphere before the game and gets people going.
The canadians pulled up into a random guys front lawn, payed him $30 and started setting up a tent and the bbq. Two hot dogs and a burger later we were ready for the game.
Before the game the only discussion around the stadium was how big the margin of victory would be for Michigan - during the game people were a lot more nervous. I doubt many of the readers of this blog will be interested in the dynamics of the game, but it was a close one that Michigan won 42-37 in the end.
A great game of football - and some fun new canadian friends.
Even though we got a little rain early in the morning - it was the perfect day for football.
We met up with our Canadian friends a little over 8 in the morning and got a ride from them down to the stadium (with a short stop for beer and meats). For Simon and Erlend this would be their introduction to the great american tradition of tailgating. In few words it's the american excuse to meet up outside the stadium three hours before kickoff to drink beer, barbeque some hot dogs and burgers and have fun. It creates a great atmosphere before the game and gets people going.
The canadians pulled up into a random guys front lawn, payed him $30 and started setting up a tent and the bbq. Two hot dogs and a burger later we were ready for the game.
Before the game the only discussion around the stadium was how big the margin of victory would be for Michigan - during the game people were a lot more nervous. I doubt many of the readers of this blog will be interested in the dynamics of the game, but it was a close one that Michigan won 42-37 in the end.
A great game of football - and some fun new canadian friends.
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