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| Poughkeepsie &
New York (again) |
Back to December, 1999
1/1/00: Just seen the Great Changing of the Digits here in NY on TV -- esp loved the synchronised "10, 9, 8" etc from 1.5 million people on the streets there. Us, we're on the couch drinking bubbly cider and commenting on how terribly phallic the Washington Monument display was. (The reporter thinks Sydney did better. I say, "Except for the happy face!" What were they thinking?)
BARGAIN OF THE MILLENNIUM: had the bright idea that Mum's camera's problem might be the batteries. So popped into a shop to check on getting new ones. Was offered the... interesting... price of US$30 for each one. Discounted to US$40 for the two if I paid cash. I said 'thanks but no thanks' and got right out of there! ... just seemed a little over-the-top! |
| *in retrospect |
I feel obliged to be honest to everyone reading the webpage, and say that the Times Square photo was taken as we passed through on the afternoon of the 30th, rather than anytime on the 31st. The astute viewer will of course have noticed that anyway, as there are clear gaps between people in the photo. :-)
Have passed my last few days in NY with friends, cats and movies. After the marathon TV session following the Y2K celebrations in various countries (I don't know too many Australians so feel quite happy to reiterate again that the happy face at Sydney sorta spoiled the effect) I slept in on New Year's day for quite a satisfying length of time. In the evening we went out to watch "Bicentennial Man", which was very good aside from a robot breaking the First Law rather unnecessarily, and then stayed up late again to watch "La Reine Margot" and practice my French skills. About halfway through I found myself talking to the cat in French, so it must have worked. |
| 2/1/2000
Poughkeepsie
to
Montreal
*updated |
This'd be a much longer letter if the two cybercafes I knew of in this area actually existed! Instead I've got to use this computer @ the hostel which doesn't allow disks, and have to leave my beautifully written :-) letter for another time. Suffice it to say that I'm safe and sound in Montreal. Doing my best to practice my French, but people keep hearing my accent and switching to English!
Today (the 2nd), equipped with a new bag to replace the one of Dad's that I broke, I'm on the way up to Canada to use my French on someone who'll hopefully understand it. It's rather dark outside the train, as it seems that every cloud in the country has moved between us and the sun. There also seems to be rather more snow and ice around than there was in NYC and Poughkeepsie. The train conductor has handed out customs declaration forms for us to fill out, and has announced that he won't talk about how that's not his job.
If you receive this then Canadian customs hasn't taken too great exception to my packed lunch and I'll have remembered to take my Canadian cash out of the sock in my bag. |
| 3/1/2000
to Toronto |
Well, I'm a girl who doesn't know where her towel is -- almost left it behind at the youth hostel this morning. Luckily I'd left myself plenty of time to get to the station, so turning back halfway there wasn't a problem.
Montreal was cool. Downright chilly in fact, with snow on the ground (the parts that hadn't been trodden on by several hundred passers-by, at least) when I arrived. I had easily enough warm clothes, though. Found the hostel without a hitch (even though Dad's map of Montreal is from 1981, when a rather large street was not yet named Rene Levesque), and then went out exploring. The two cybercafes that were supposed to be nearby had both disappeared, so I was only able to send brief notes through a computer at the hostel computer. Did some tourist shopping instead -- postcards and a couple of trinkets -- and was befriended by an effusive shop owner who shook my hand several times and even kissed my cheek French-style. Plus he gave me a nice discount on my purchases, and a keyring, and a can of Sprite, and a fairly long conversation, some of it even in French.
This morning I got up fairly early to go shopping -- the nice people at the desk pointed me to the nearest market so I could pick up supplies for making my breakfast and lunch. I finished eating just in time to check out, and after the incident of the towel, I arrived at the train station and found myself a seat. Just on our way now to Toronto. The terrain here brings new meaning to the word "flat", and I'm rather thankful for all the trees. |
| 4-7/1/2000
Toronto
to
Vancouver |
Well, in three days on the train I've written not a single email, so this is just a quick note before we arrive at our final destination. Toronto was quite good; got to Planet Hollywood and found some photo-worthy objects.
The train trip's been great -- met up with three cool people: Ryan, Dawn, and John, and we kept each other busy with talking. There were also a reasonable amount of stops along the way where we could get out. Only annoying thing was the staff telling us we had less time than we did. Particularly at Jasper, where on the way back to the station I saw an e-cafe but didn't have the time to go in. Or didn't think I did; by the time we left the station it was about 3/4 of an hour later! Via Rail's a pretty cool lot, though; even when we're late they can catch us up. Last night were 1hr 20min late; this morning we're pretty much as on time as you can get.
Lots of cool scenery, too. No digital camera, alas, so can't send you photos, but I can send my "artistic impression" of each province as we went through it. They made my co-travellers laugh, anyway, and I promised them I'd try to get them up on the website. The order should be:
Ontario (the endless province),
Manitoba (the flat province),
Saskatchewan (the province we went through at night),
Alberta (the province where we first saw the Rockies) and
British Columbia, aka BC (the province with Vancouver in).
I'd actually answer what email I know you've sent, but the ecaf in Toronto did evil things in a long story that I might describe later, and I didn't have time to download it all, even in half an hour. Hopefully will have better luck here in Vancouver; Dawn's given me directions to one of the ecaf's I know of and says there's a library nearby which I'll try first. |
| 7/1/2000
Vancouver
to
Seattle |
Didn't get to spend long in Vancouver, just enough to find the library (closed) and the ecaf, thanks to directions from Dawn on the train. Used the last of my non-emergency comp batteries on the bus to Seattle and am now recharging both it and me. Haven't done very much, really. Hopefully more to tell you next time
Canada: <sniffle> Didn't see a single Mountie! Some snow, but not very deep. |
| 8/1/2000
Seattle
to
Portland
to
Pasco |
Not much new here. Seattle -- overnighted, then visited a market in the morning before heading to the train station. There's a free downtown bus service, which is quite nice, except that what they really need is an elevator service. It's disconcerting walking up streets that are on angles more habitually associated with a graphics and design classroom. Plus I came across a t-shirt along the lines of "You don't tan in Seattle, you just rust", and I've never been good with rain.
Talked to someone almost all the way down to Portland. There, went for a walk to find some protein (aka a cheeseburger of the cardboard/sawdust/plastic type), and stumbled on a bookstore or two. Set myself a definite time limit so I wouldn't be tempted to miss the train. Made it back to the station on time (passing a shop with the sign "If we see a drug deal we _will_ call the police.") and am now on the way to Pasco to meet Lara. |
| 9-11/1/2000
Pasco
to
Minneapolis/St Paul |
Had a great time in Pasco; stayed up far too late talking to Lara about writing and such, as two writers inevitably will. :-)
Next morning went shopping to stock up on groceries for the next few train trips (or the next few weeks; I'm now very well supplied indeed) and came back in time for a late lunch. Drove to "the Reach", a wildlife reserve where Lara has from time to time spotted a few spiders, in late afternoon -- drove there during sunset and back under the stars. Nice to see Orion the right side up in this hemisphere. :-)
Then on to Minneapolis. A nice train ride, in that I had two seats to myself and found an almost-comfortable position to sleep in.
On arrival, however, I discovered that Amtrak had fairly thoroughly soaked my tramping bag. Somehow it got covered in snow, which subsequently (rather predictably) melted. Luckily most of my stuff was in bags, and most of the wet stuff can be put through the drier. But there's some things, like maps (most importantly a couple copies of the New World order map) which are going to end up wrinkled, and even hard to read in one or two spots; a couple of books narrowly escaped the same fate. And to top it all off, the guy at the baggage counter just passed it off as "unavoidable". If anything's dirty I was to give him the dry cleaning bill, but no apology at all for wet clothing etc. I'm almost tempted to take it with me as carry-on from now on to stop it happening again. |
| 12/1/2000
Minneapolis/St Paul
to
Chicago |
Tom Sherren's family apparently has a nasty bug running amok, so he's very kindly putting me up in a hotel for the night. So now I've got two very comfortable beds and am wondering if I could smuggle one onto the train. :-) (Okay, so one of them is currently covered with everything in my bag that didn't need drying, but nevertheless I'm feeling very spoiled.)
Tom Sherren drove me around the Twin Cities -- firstly to the block on S. Lyndale, between 26th and 27th, where I recognised a lot of shops (French Meadow Bakery, Mud Pie restaurant, etc) and discovered the place where the 'tourist bureau' I mentioned in my wee scene must be located, a nice anonymous block of a plaster-coated building.
Also visited the library nearby for internet access, and a cybercaf for a hot chocolate and to send messages from my disk. Then a general tour of the area, stopping for lunch at a Mexican place. I got to see this end of the Mississippi in daylight, at least. :-) Also, the snow here was crunchy instead of squeaky, and that seemed a little more natural. :-)
The rasfc gathering planned for the evening seemed to be cursed -- three out of four of the people interested turned out to be unable to make it, for various reasons. However David Owen-Cruise could, so we met at an Egyptian restaurant and chatted for a couple of hours over very large servings.
On my way to Chicago now with snow coming down hard enough to make them leave the St Paul station half an hour or so behind schedule. Hopefully won't arrive too late in the windy city, but will see what happens.
For some reason I've entrusted the bag with 'them' again. See if they can soak it this time; now almost everything's in plastic. |
| 12-14/1/2000
Chicago |
Arrived in Chicago about just a wee bit late and wandered around for seven blocks trying to find the station two blocks away for my train. (Mainly because I'd worked out my directions and then gone up an escalator that took me unknowingly to a different side of the street.) Arrived out at Geneva; Sam picked me up and drove me back to her place where I met everyone. We were about to sit down for dinner when the lights went out, and stayed out for forty minutes. Dinner by candlelight (and fluorescent flashlight).
Next day Sam and I went to the Museum of Science & Industry, including the coal mine among a maze other exhibits. One about flying with a handy airplane to tour; also toured a U505 submarine. |
| 14/1/2000
Chicago
to
Toronto (again) |
Spent the next day travelling up to Toronto (again). Was a while before I met up with Coridon, as apparently Amtrak had very helpfully told him my train was an hour late due to a change of crew. (We were at one stage three quarters of an hour late waiting for some other trains on the tracks; cut that down to half an hour late by the border, and down to six minutes late into Toronto. Amtrak is weird.) |
| 14-17/1/2000
Toronto |
Today we went to the University of Toronto to look around the campus a bit. It was around about here that I confused my camera to the point of paralysis by putting new batteries in. Then we went on to the Royal Ontario Museum, and managed to see a very reasonable representation of the exhibits there. Pity the bat cave didn't have any live bats in it, though....
This photo is the shadow of the CN tower from the main observation deck. It was a windy day, and it swayed about six inches. The revolving doors to outside were locked, as otherwise they'd revolve all by themselves in the wind. |
| 15/1/2000
Niagara Falls |
This photo is one of our many Niagara Falls ones: it's the Horseshoe Falls. The weather got to a wind chill of -36. It was a spectacular sight, with a light show on the falls, but I'm very glad I was well wrapped. (Two hats, two pairs of gloves, my scarf, five layers on top and three below.) Still a bit chilly, even with all that! But wonderful to see the falls. |
| 17/1/2000
Toronto
to
Buffalo |
Hmm. Amtrak's got Issues.... Apart from that weird thing in Toronto. There were two stations in Buffalo; I almost got off at the wrong one, the one downtown. The one I did go to was pretty close to the middle of nowhere. I went wandering and found a few closed shops, it being Martin Luther King Day. No scenery to speak of. Plus rather cold, so I went back to the station where there was a power outlet for my laptop. |
| 18/1/2000
Buffalo
to
Cleveland |
Spent nine or ten hours there waiting for the train. And then another three because the train left NYC rather late, so I had to phone up Geoff to let him know not to get up at 4am to meet me... Finally left the station somewhere between 4 and 5am.
Thankfully found two seats together, so when the loud Texan stopped talking I could get some sleep. |
| 18-20/1/2000
Cleveland |
Spent the next couple days in Cleveland catching up on sleep and reading and generally relaxing with Geoff, Kathy, and little Bronwyn. Also got my camera fixed.
The weather that certain Recog people claim is following me hit Cleveland on the night of the 19th, and made my departing train on the morning of the 20th an hour late. |
| 20/1/2000
Cleveland
to
Chicago (again) |
And then there was something going on with the tracks, so we got another hour and a half behind schedule on the way to Chicago. A larger number than one would hope of the toilets developed their own issues, and smokers started getting unhappy because the smoking lounge had been closed. Amtrak attempted appeasements of an extra smoking session for those interested, plus a blueberry muffin and a can of fizzy/pop/soda (choose your dialect). It seemed to work for the people who weren't raving lunatics, ie all but one guy. ("Everyone remain calm," he says.) No idea yet on how the can of drink is intended to solve the toilet problem, but I guess they're hoping we arrive in Chicago first.... |
| 20-22/1/2000
Chicago |
Later: We did arrive in Chicago first. :-) Took the right turn to the Northwestern Station for the metra train this time, and went out to meet Crys. Got conducted to her house, and spent a while discussing Due South and watching various Callum Keith Rennie related programmes. :-)
We went to the weapons and armour exhibit in the Art Institute. Sasscat will be thrilled to know we also went to the Canadian Consulate (or at least lurked around outside the rooms on the 24th floor of the Prudential building where it's located); and also visited Rush Street and Lakeview. Except that by the time we got to Lakeview it was getting very cold, so we didn't get to see much.
We also watched the lunar eclipse during ad breaks in "Call of the Wild" (Due South episode, not a televisation of the Jack London novel), in which the moon went a lovely shade of orange over a long period of time. |
| 22/1/2000
Madison |
Took a bus to Madison, WI. Memorial Union there looks nothing like any station I've been in before, and for a couple of minutes I wondered if I was in the right place. However, Rachael found me about then and relieved my uncertainty. She took me to her apartment to meet her cat Chinook, then we made ginger ice cream, ate pizza, ate the ice cream, and played the feather game with the cat for most of the evening. (That's when you wave a long thing with a feather on the end in front of the cat, and move it away just before the cat pounces. When you get bored of the game, the cat tries to play by itself and is bemused as to its failure.) |
| 23-24/1/2000
Chicago |
Far too early the next morning I had to wake up to catch my bus back to Chicago. But once back there I was picked up by Sam and family and taken to Merrillville, Indiana for lunch with Candy and family. The guys kept talking about computers and ISPs, but we managed to have some intelligible conversation as well. :-) Performed an equivalent of the ink blot test with Candy's daughter Cynthia by naming random connected-dot drawings as objects ranging from bats to Australia. I must have passed, because she then folded a dollar bill into a ring for my pinkie. :-)
By the time we got back to Sam's place, I'd decided that my sniffle was most definitely a cold; indeed, a particularly nasty cold. Or so it felt at the time (I've now mostly recovered), so after finishing a Bujold novel (one must get one's priorities right) I napped for a couple of hours. Had a small dinner, tried unsuccessfully to contact the Salt Lake City youth hostel, and went to bed again.
Realised in the morning that there was in fact another number to contact the SLC hostel at, and called them there from Union Station. Realised in the middle of the conversation that as I was arriving after midnight on the 26th, I'd want to reserve the night of the _25th_. Some confusion ensued and I resolved to call back from Denver (on the 25th itself) to make sure I'd have a bed for the night. The San Francisco hostel wasn't answering at all. |
| 24-26/1/2000
Chicago
to
Salt Lake City
"Best scenery of the trip" award |
Managed to eat an egg for breakfast, since my stomach was rebelling at the thought of anything else. Got two seats to myself on the train, so didn't have to inflict my cold on anyone else. More importantly, I got some reasonable sleep, and woke up feeling much better. At Denver I managed to confirm reservations for both SLC and SF.
Then we arrived in the Rockies, and started following the Colorado River. A couple of people have recommended this particular train ride to me, and now I understand why. Just to explain it.... Um. Think really tall piles of rocks. Really pretty rocks. Really high above your head. On both sides of you. And they're very cool, and very beautiful, and they're all around you. The rocks are mostly red, but with some white and yellow and green stains. There's evergreen trees (sorry, I could barely tell a spruce from a fir if they were labelled in neon lights) on the rocks wherever they're not vertical. Just below you, because the train's going right along the bottom of this, is the Colorado river. Mostly it's green, though it's sometimes iced over, and has miniature icebergs in it, and later rapids. At some points it's braided, and the islands are covered in yellow grasses and red bushes. Red and yellow and green and white. Forget science fiction: this is *the* sense of wonder. It's two hours of pure "wow", and then just when you think it's done, it's another couple of hours of "wow" after that. (After that I don't know; it gets dark too early this time of year.)
I only stopped watching for a couple of minutes during Amtrak's scavenger hunt; they asked for a coin with one's date of birth on it. So now I'm the proud owner of a pack of Amtrak playing cards. Also of not-nearly-enough photos of the river and various canyons -- this stuff is too big to photograph. Also the best of it isn't accessible by car, so you have to take the California Zephyr. Very very very highly recommended; the entire river gets my "Best scenery of the trip" award. (Yes, it even wins over Niagara Falls, and that was no Saskatchewan.)
Dashed into the gift shop during a 10minute stop somewhere for a couple of postcards, and didn't miss the train! |
| 26-28/1/2000
Salt Lake City |
Arrived in SLC, shared a cab with a couple of other hostellers, found my key waiting at the door, and slipped into bed with barely a rather-loud-clang of the door to wake the other person in my dorm.
Okay. On my first day in SLC, I took note of a couple of places I wanted to visit (ie the library and any cybercafe that existed; also a museum I saw at random on the map) and set off. Located a supermarket on the way. Visited the museum, then wandered for a while and found another one -- opposite Temple Square, so when I got out of that one I just crossed the street and got myself a free guided tour with a couple of (very :-) friendly Mormons. Then did little bits and pieces like shopping, cooking and laundry. Spent far too long on my feet, all told. Oh, and there was a mouse in the hostel kitchen. I think it was black, but it hid under the oven.
Despite sore legs, got myself up on my second day at a reasonable time (ie only about half an hour after my alarm went off) so I'd have time to pack my things and check out. Left my bags in the office for the day while I gadded about (um, is that a real past tense?). First (despite sore legs) I walked about 10 blocks uphill to get a good view of the place. Especially with the nice weather, though there were some annoying trees in the way. (Darn vegetation blocking all the scenery! - we complained about this on the train across Canada, too.) Couldn't find a bus to the Great Salt Lake, but was pointed to an organ recital in the Tabernacle at lunch instead; that pointed me to a choir practice in the evening. (Both free, yay :-) Between the two, I did a messy attempt at some genealogical research. Got lots of names, most of them either "William" or "Elizabeth". (There were also some Johns and Marys.) Who knows if they'll be any use in trying to solve the puzzle of the two Fitchett branches in NZ, but it kept me out of mischief for the day.
Collected my bags from the hostel before the office closed and got a taxi to the train station. No-one to share it with this time (oh woe is me), however I shall endure... When I checked their website this afternoon the train was running an hour late; hopefully they'll've made up some time, because the chairs here really are not made for sleeping in. |
| 28/1/2000
Salt Lake City
to
San Francisco |
Got my train, got some sleep, saw some scenery, and got to my bed in the youth hostel, while writing fanfiction to annoy Sasscat. |
| 28-29/1/2000
San Francisco |
Spent my last day in America with Lucy, driving around San Francisco to see bits and pieces, both planned and unplanned, and hastily changing lunch plans to avoid a sudden street brawl in front of us. :-) Walked on the beach and talked about writing, then found a particularly cool fountain you can walk around, through, on, and under without even getting (particularly) wet. Finally drove to the airport... |
| 29-31/1/2000
San Francisco
to
New Zealand |
... where I did all the usual airport stuff (following instructions) until I got home. A short hop to Los Angeles, a little longer hop to Auckland (New Zealand), and finally another short hop to Christchurch. Mum, Dad and one sister (the other was at school) met me (after a while; they had to keep an eye on the car in the 5-minute parking as well).... |
| 31/1/2000
Home Sweet Home |
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Zeborahis now in Noumea
New Caledonia
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