Getting Old

I've been reading Niddler's Blog with even more interest than usual over the past few days as he and Mrs Niddler blog about their experiences as new parents.

It's scary to think that Niddler, who I've known since we were at school together is now a Dad. I mean, i have friends younger than him who are fathers... but I don't remember them as teenagers, dicusssing whether an Angry Klingon could defeat the Borg, or if TNG was better than DS9.. Also.. I don't remember little teenage me being absolutely TERRIFIED by their mothers.. who were actually only being really lovely and polite and taking an interest!

So it's a bit weird to read these blogs about being able to park in Family Parking.. of having only 20 minutes a day to do stuff as they have a little one taking up all their time.. such a different world to me who worries about whether I can get out of work in time to watch both 24 AND Heroes before going to bed, or planning weekly shoppping to allow the WHOLE of Saturday to doss about at home in my dressing gown noodling on the guitar.

Kinda feels like i'm stuck in those teenage years while Niddler is all grown up! I suppose it must be a bit weird though to no longer by the youngest generation in your family! Give it 25 years and there may be a Femto (or Pico) Niddler I guess and i wonder if i'll be able to drag this blog up and repost :o)

Blighty

I'm now back in the UK after a 7 hour flight, and 10 minutes in the airport! Can't believe how quick it was in T5 to get through.

So yeah, back at home now after a really fantastic week. Yesterday afternoon we went back into Chicago and had a wander around during the day, Walked down the river to Navy Pier, where I managed to get quite a few good cityscape shots.

Then. was off the airport to await our flight. Luckily we all got to sit together, and ended up with 4 seats between 3 of us. The flight was good, and the coach and train rides after it pretty good too. Now to sort my washing out and go to Tesco. Will see Dunc and Glo again on Tuesday, which will be good.

The train ride back was interesting. I was sitting in a part of the carriage with two parents and their two kids.. the Father was English, but the Mother Japanese. Their oldest daughter must have been about 4 but was totally bilingual. Her Mother spoke to her in Japanese, and she responded in kind. Her father spoke to her in English, and likewise, she responded in kind. Was very impressed!

So.. what are my lasting memories of my first trip to the US.. Well.. in no particular order.

1) Food - SOOOO much of it... and very good as well.

2) Toilets - Far too shallow, and the stalls leave you feeling exposed. Certainly not places to linger with your newspaper for a quiet read.

3) Large Houses - Couldn't get over how big (and affordable) houses were.

4) Tim - The chap who drove us to Chicago.. grade 1 nutter.. but lovely bloke.

5) People who loved my accent - Had quite a few 'England' chats

6) How friendly people were - Us Brits can be an antisocial bunch, but everyone i met went out of their way to be friendly and make you feel welcome.

I'm sure to add some more to this list at some point...

Chicago

Wednesday brought about Chicago. After a leisurely last morning in Kokomo we all packed and awaited our ride to the 'Windy City'.

But first, I must make a mention on a couple of British Friends of Dunc and Gloria that live in one of these big houses outside the City that Duncan took me to the other day. Their daughter is moving out here from England to live today so we popped over yesterday so Glo could drop off a gift. We got to their place and it was huge. The sort of place that would cost a mint in the UK, but seems much more commonplace as a standard family home over here. They had had it built from scratch and gave us a tour. The highlight of this was the basement, complete with working 45rpm Jukebox, PacMan machine, pool table, darts and beer mats all over the walls... like being in a proper English pub!

So.. yes, back to Chicago. We were given a lift to the Hotel (all 3 hrs drive) by some friends of D&G, who were quite possibly the maddest people I have met.. they were brilliant! Upon finding out I was English and Single.. a mission was made to find me an American girl on the way home... The first attempt was at a toll booth, where the girl did not seem very impressed with the suggestion from the front that 'the guy in the back is English and single, and on the way to the airport, wanna come?' Good job really... she looked a bit scary!

The second was at a set of lights.. where the girl in the car next to us promptly did a U-Turn when the suggestion was made... So no luck there!

It also turns out that these froend's of D&G have been together since they were 3 and 4... so for about 40-odd years! Amazing.. Lovely people.. and also quite mad!

\so once we were here, we went for Pizza again, then Duncan and I headed off into Downtown Chicago so i could get some night photos taken. We headed up the John Hancock observatory where there was an AMAZING view across the whole city and out over Lake Michigan. After this it was a wander along to the train station to get our train back to the Airport and then bus tot he hotel. Photos will be on Flickr soon.

Today is my last day in the US as we fly out tonight. I have to say that I've really enjoyed it here, and it was especially good to catch up with D&G again. I'm now sitting in the hotel having packed fully. This afternoon we are off for a wander around Chicago before jetting off back to Blighty at 10pm this evening.

Food.. and More

Ok, where were we? Ahh yes! Kokomo.

Last night, myself and Duncan went to the Half Moon pub and brewery so I could sample some US brewed beer. This pub has it's own brewery onsite and brews a range of proper beers. On offer were a few Ales, a wheat beer and a porter. I settled for the Wheat beer to start - about 4.5% which was really nice, very subtle flavours, slightly sweet on the tongue, but with a small bitter aftertaste.

I also had a sample of the 'Cole Porter' an 8% plus dark chocolate-malty Porter. This was a truly great beer, one which I would love to be able to bring back for Dominic to try but I fear they won't export it.

For food, we settled on Nachos (to share) with shredded pork, and I chose a Smoked BBQ Burger and a SMALL side order of onion rings.... Well.. I don't know what small means around here, but to me small means maybe 5 or 6.. What I got was a HUGE mountain of them... must have been at least 30. So, they were boxed up, and we re having most with our tea tonight. Talking of huge portions, the Nachos arrived and they made the Crown's 'Mountain' look like a speedbump... There were SOOOOO many. Then the mains came, and well.. huge portions again. I was astounded at the amount of food that was delivered to our table. I had to admit defeat.. but would love to have seen how Martyn would have tackled this feast! In other news, I now like Root Beer!

Today I went to Panera Bread once more while Glo went to Knitting Classes. Went up to the till, asked for a Latte and then proceeded to have a nice long conversation with Nancy, who worked the till. What I learned is that Nancy can do a brilliant Cockney accent, but was a little less impressed when she said that's how I sounded! Nancy was quite excited that I was from England, and told every customer and worker about me! Had my 5 mins of fame so drank my Latte quite contently. Next up was JCPenney where they had a sale on... ended up coming out with $98 worth of clothes, having saved $130 due to the sale... absolutely brilliant. When you consider that one item was a pair of Levi's that would have cost about as much in the UK as my total bill here. I came away with said Jeans, some work trousers, work shirt, 2 t shirts and a casual shirt. Most happy! I also managed to pick up some Green Cons for EmJ!! Just need to get some purple ones for me!

Lunch was at McAllisters which had great sandwiches and then it was back home before we went with Glo to work so I could meet the babies she looks after. I met just the one, but he was sooo adorable.. very happy, very smiley and liked being picked up. Didn't stay too long as i could feel Duncan was getting uncomfortable with the two girls in the room playing with the baby!

I also managed to get a quick video tour done of the Apartment which will be uploaded as a video to Flickr when I get back. I sound hideously posh.. and also forgot all the jokes that I had planned to say, but hey.. the vid isn't about me, it's about showing you where i am staying.

The rest of the afternoon was spent taking more photos in Kokomo. Managed to get the old disused railway station, complete with locomotive that was ticking over... go figure!

A short drive around to look at big houses later and we are back. I'm blogging, while D&G are cooking buffalo wings (not actually wings of buffalos, as that would require some great feat of genetic engineering) steaks and onion rings (the ones not eaten last night).

Got loads of food as we need to eat stuff up as D&G come back to the UK for 2 weeks on Thurs, and we are off to Chicago tomorrow!

Haircut

I'm now back from a trip to the shops with Duncan. We went to Wal-Mart (evil!) where I got two pairs of jeans (one Wrangler, one own brand) for about £20. We also went to a 'Best Buy' which is just like the 'Buy More' from Chuck, a supermarket and also to a shoe shop.. Hot on the heels (he he) of my recent Cons purchase, I am trying to get hold of a purple pair (for me) and a green pair (for EmJ) but couldn't find any! So will have to check in Chicago, on Wednesday. Shame, as one of the shops had them on display but not in the right sizes :o(

And then... there was the haircut.

Oh Yes.

The Haircut.

I am now back to my usual cropped look, having dallied first with a Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen come James May look, followed by a short back and sides with far to much on top... Time for a change and so I went with Duncan to his local Barber. We walked in and it was full of 'locals'

Duncan took his seat first while I patiently waited. One short-back-and-sides later and it was my turn in the chair. 'Whadya havin?' came the question.. 'ooh, a grade 3 all over please' says me in my finest English accent. Barber looks confused and looks to Duncan for a translation. Duncan speaks very slowly and mimes, and the Barber then verifies with me that I want a 'crew cut'. Yes I say, and he sets to work. I wondered if this was the first time that someone has had to translate from English to English?

Part way through the haircut, a gentleman to the right of Duncan, who obviously picked up that we are English (nothing to do with the bowler hats and umbrellas we were carrying, of course, or the fact that we both sound like Hugh Grant..) and asks us if either of us had been through 'that tunnel' - referring of course to the Channel Tunnel. He asks if they have lights on so you can see where you are driving! We explained that it was a train tunnel, and he seemed satisfied.

By this time, I was finished in the chair, having had my first 'American Crew Cut' - which i have to say, was done with more care and attention than a UK one - and we were off once more.

A lasting memory of my first visit to the US I think!

An Indiana Adventure Continues...

So.. Now it's Monday morning, Duncan is at work and Gloria is making noodles for some free-noodle-fest their Church is planning for this weekend - The idea is to give out free noodle dinners to anyone that wants one. Sounds like a great idea to me - and i'm sitting here in their HUGE lounge (pictures to come... i'll be Flickring when I get back to Blighty), listening to Disney Love Songs, eating haribo, and drinking Earl Grey.

I've only been here since Thursday but we have done loads of stuff so far. My last blog left off at the point of me sitting drinking a Latte, so I best continue from there.

So.. Friday afternoon was spent wandering around Kokomo with my camera and visiting the happening places. Went to see the Stump and the Steer.. which are the town's number 1 tourist attractions (according to Wikipedia anyway!). The Stump is a huge sycamore tree stump and The Steer is a stuffed Cow, albeit a very large one. I also had my first Taco Bell experience, which i enjoyed a lot. shame we have none of these in the UK!

Edit: Due to CD skipping issues, i've now put on Dolly.

After gazing in abject wonder at the tree and the cow, we wandered through the park for a bit, through the covered bridge, past a playpark, a very brave squirrel and a stadium. After that it was time to visit the Chimney.. a feat of engineering that would have had made Haskew jealous. Basically, some chap has built an industrial chimney in his (very small) back garden.. no idea what his neighbours think! After a quick visit to Duncan's work, it was back to get ready to go out to a Passion Play at a local Church.

I've never been to a Passion Play before so was quite excited and did not know what to expect. What I got to see was a musical journey through the last Week of Christ's life.. was really good, it's not something we see much of in the UK, which is a real shame, it's a great way to introduce people to Jesus.


Come Saturday and it was off to Indianapolis for the day, but first, a stop at IHOP (international house of pancakes) was in order... again, something we don't really have in the UK. I chose a stack of strawberry and banana pancakes with a side order of 2 fried eggs and a plate of Hash Browns.. Now, US HB are different to what I would know as a HB, these were diced potato, and onion. Somehow I managed to get through this huge mountain of food and we were on our way once more. I think IHOP has been my fave place to eat so far.

An hour or so later, after driving on a VERY straight road, we arrived in Indy, which I have to say was lovely. We visited a Shopping Mall which was full of teenagers... a lot of them were wearing Jesus Tees. It's something that i've noticed so far during my stay, that there are a lot of public displays of faith, from 'In God we Trust' numberplates, bumper stickers, T Shirts etc.. It;s quite refreshing really, just shows how conservative we can be in the UK.

We next went to one of Indy's top attractions - a roundabout! Well.. It wasn't just a roundabout, it had a War Memorial and observation tower on it.. And rather than pay a dollar for the lift, we walked up the stairs to the top.. to give you an idea of size, it was about the same height as the Soton Guildhall. Was very hot up there.. but the views across the city were lovely.

Next on the agenda was a trip to the canals in the centre of the city. I managed to get many of my 'obligatory Duck Shots'. It was a lovely sunny day and the walk along the canals was great. I really enjoyed my day in Indy. On the way home we visited a rather posh out of town shopping centre where I managed to pick up some Cons for $50 - under half the price these would cost me in the UK, so was very pleased.

In the evening it was time to visit an all you can eat buffet, was amazed at the choice of food here.. was loads.. i also managed to drink my bodyweight in Mountain Dew - never had it before and it's lovely. Had my first 'Love your accent' comment from one of the staff.. she had to ask me to repeat myself as she wasn't listening to what i was saying.. just my accent!)

Sunday morning brought a visit to D&Gs Church. I went to both morning services and D was preaching in both. I was really looking forward to visiting Church as I was fascinated to see how different Church can be in the US to the UK. The first thing that struck me was the building itself, it looks like a 6 pointed star and inside there is lots of Purple!

The theme of the services was the Crucifixion. Rather than have one person speak for a period of time, the sermon was split into 6 sections, with a different person for each. Duncan spoke about Mary at the foot of the cross and her faithfulness. Both services were very similar, except the average age dropped drastically with service number 2. I enjoyed the mix of speaking and music, and it seemed to me to a be a Church I could be very happy at. everyone was really friendly and came and said hello (in the second service anyway, had 14 people say hello - in the first service I only had 2 and a half hellos!). We sat in the 'Brit row' where there were some other fellow Brits. I should have brought a St George flag with me to wave!

After Church was lunchtime, and that was shared with 2 people from Church, it was really nice to meet some more new people and swap stories of how the UK and US are different!

A quiet Sunday afternoon followed with Naptime!

So.. now it's Monday and so far i'm really enjoying my first visit to the US. Many things have struck me about this place so far.. which will be covered by a separate blog post when i'm back in the UK i reckon.. but the only one i want to mention here are US toilets.

Now.. many people who know me know that I have a slight obsession with Toilets, in that I never pass up the opportunity to use one! But.. US toilets are scary! Firstly, the stalls have doors which have about a foot clearance at top and bottom... so scared someone will poke their head under! Secondly, the locks don't feel like they work properly.. in the UK we often have bolt locks which give a satisfying 'clink' as they lock.. in the US, they seem to have these locks that you move about 1mm to the left and they lock, 1mm to the right and they unlock! No good if you are a nervous poo-er!

Also, the toilets are far more shallow than ours, which results in you being able to see EVERYTHING you put down it - No doubt Dr Gillian McKeith would be whooping with joy at this prospect - but it's very disturbing for us Brits, as (with the possible exception of Martyn) we don't like to think about poo.. we just want it gone without us knowing!

Phew.. Epic post today.. so well done for anyone who has gotten this far and as a reward, i'll buy you a drink.. you just have to mention the word 'Marzipan' to me to prove you got this far, and a drink will be yours!

Thanks to Duncan for the pictures!

Panera Bread - Kokomo Day 1

Ok, So i'm now ere in Kokomo. The flight yesterday was pretty good, spent most of it listening to my iPod, so it went by fairly quickly.. for 8 hours!

Spent an age getting through Customs though.. about 200 of us piled off the plane, ready to be met by 2 open Border Patrol desks! Luckily one of the Security bods saw the problem and sent some of us to the US only desks.

Finally got through ok and was met by Duncan and Gloria... with Pizza! Possibly the best pizza i have ever tasted. Imagine a thin crust base, with enough topping to make it look deep pan! amazing... and 200okcal a slice! fantastic. Was really good to see D&G again as it's been too long. The journey back to their place (3hrs from airport) was ok and consisted of flat lands.. rain.. and a quick stop for a wee and a coke!

Now.. the Apartment in Kokomo that D&G have is HUGE.. my whole flat could fit in their lounge.. It has a MASSIVE open plan kitchen / living / dining area, complete with it's own stained glass window, more bathrooms than bedrooms, a very big master suite with adjoining gym and racketball court! I'm going to have to get some photos for Flickr to illustrate how nice (and big) their place is.

Started this morning with a slice of leftover pizza and 2 cups of Earl Grey for breakfast.. and i'm now sitting in a Panera Bread using their free wifi while Gloria gets her hair done... Got Sammy out and he's happily looking all blue and lovely... Got classical music playing in the background, with my latte and cinnamon roll by my side... top stuff!

Off to a Passion Play tonight.. never been to one before so looking forward to it!

Am off to Indy tomorrow, which will be good so no doubt wil have many more holiday blog posts this week.

Edit: Been to Taco Bell for lunch which was a first for me! cheap and fab!

Heathrow T5

So.. here i am, sitting in T5 awaiting myboarding call. When T5 went live, there was chaos if i remember correctly. I saw none of that today. Arrived, checked in and was through security within 15 mins. That lft me 2 and a half hours to kill. So.. i got some lunch, wandered around the shops, now i'm in a quiet corner happily posing with my NC-10!!

Don't know my boarding gate yet, so i'll while away a few more mins staring out the window looking at planes taking off.

Got an 8 hour flight ahead of me, with Duncan and Gloria will hopefully be waiting for me in Chicago.

Looking forward to this trip as i've not seen D&G for ages.

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