USA Road Trip!!!

So, as you may have guessed I bought an iPad. We went into this giant electronics store today called a Best Buy. It’s literally like the Buy More in Chuck, it even has a Geek Squad to fix your PC. So while we were there we had a look at a few other options, like the Moto Xoom, which is really ossom, but almost a thousand dollars and the Samsung which was like five hundred dollars. The Ipad was on special though because the new one is a week away, so it was a good deal.

It’s super kewl, even though the new one is almost here I think it’s a good buy. So when we get back you can compare it to the Galaxy Craig. We were gonna actually buy an Archos 5 Android from Radioshack for $199 but they were out of stock

Anyway that’s all from the IPad for now.

So the only bus to Charleston is at 4 tomorrow morning, so we are here in Raleigh, North Carolina for another night. Which turned out to be awesome!!! We found a way nicer motel, which is much cheaper (go figure!). Raleigh is pronounced, RAAA- lee, like when you go to the dr and say aaaaaaa, NOT like the ra in Rambo. Jen, this should be ok for you, it’s the same way you say rant ;0) So anyway, our new, super cool motel is across the road from the mall, which I decided was a sign, and a-shopping we went!

We went to Best Buys, which for those of you who watch is EXACTLY like the Buymore in Chuck! They even have a nerd herd equivalent called the Geek Squad. So Funny! Nick was in techno geek heaven, and I found a pink blackberry to play with til he was done.

We found a Lindt store, Mom, /i wished you were here! they have flavours we’ve never seen and they sell them in massive packets for about R100. We are gonna try find one in Washington so we can bring some home!

We went to the Disney store, Radio Shack, and I found the US equivalent of the GHD for R1000! (Thegirls will understand how awesome that is!)

We had lunch at this place that looks like a diner from the 50′s. Best burger and chips EVER!

So before I go…

Things that are WAY better in South Africa:

1. Syrup
2. Bacon
3. Jam
4. Butter
5. Milk
6. Pizza!!!!!!!!

As much fun as we’re having, I have no doubt that my country is awesome! And the grass is not greener… just different. Also, people keep telling me my accent is ”sooo cool”, and I’m like, I don’t have an accent… you do! Hee hee. Miss you all! Love and hugs

So Washington was really nice with lots of things to see and do. Amazingly enough most of it is free too which is so different to New York where they actually sell air. The hotels however are really expensive so we just stayed one night and came down to North Carolina.

We had a very full bus on the way from Richmond so we didn’t get much sleep and are gonna leave a little earlier today to try avoid the crowds.

So not a whole lot has happened in the last two days but hopefully we will have more to report in the coming days.

So we made it to DC. But first let me catch you up on our last day in NY. We did the downtown tour which takes you to Macy’s (3 floors just for women’s shoes… Sigh!), the Empire State building, ground zero and the statue of liberty. By the end of the day my legs were stiff from my hips to my toes. For our last NY supper we went to an Irish pub and I finally got to sample the famous NY cheese cake. I honestly didn’t think it could stack up to Dom’s and so, prepared for disappointment I took my first bite. And the violin’s began playing in my head. It’s that good. I wish I could bring it home! So anyway that was pretty much NY, and so off to DC we go. We haven’t seen much yet because we weren’t convinced that we’re in the best neighbourhood for evening exploration So we ordered pizza, which as Nick said was pretty lame, watched re-runs of king of queens, and had an early night. And that’s where we’re up to. Hope you’re all good. Lots of love and hugs.

… Is really not that good. It looks really amazing on television and even when its been delivered it looks better than ours. But do not be fooled, its not as good.

Also add syrup and jam to that list. The jam flavours this morning where apple and grape. Yummy!

We are on our first bus of the trip and it now feels like an adventure. We are heading to Washington DC which is about a 5 hour ride. The seats are far better than being on a plane but its still not any kinda luxury. There is free wireless though which is kewl so I can blog and watch youtube.

Seeing a different part of the country is also nice because its so different to Manhattan. We are an hour outside the city and it looks like you expect small town America to look.

I’m gonna try have a nap now but will post some more in Washington.

So my internal clock hates me… I keep trying to sleep when I shouldn’t and go sight seeing in the middle of the SA night. But let’s start at the beginning…

The flight was loooooooooonnnnnnnggggggggg!!!! Cattle class really does suck balls, although I felt slightly (very slightly) vindicated for about oh 30 seconds. When we were standing in the security line at OR Tambo some women walks to the front, declares she is in business class and asks where HER line is. The security guard looks at her, points to the back back of the (very) long queue, and says, “Please wait in line mam.” The snickers that followed her on her return to the back were quite a bonding moment for those of us stuck in the back of the plane. My bum has just about recovered from the numbness of our packed full flight!

Once we got through customs and out of the airport, we caught the sky train to the subway station (note to self – Americans laugh at you if you ask for the sky train). Our first Subway station was in the middle of the Bronx which was quite fun! Also, trying to understand where on earth (or NY) the thing is going is a challenge, but contrary to popular belief New Yorkers are actually quite friendly to tourists. So, anyway, we eventually got to our stop, walked like 20 blocks to our hotel and were really looking forward to collapsing in our room, when – Oh wait no! “You can only check in at 3! ” Swearword! But we found this awesome diner called Lindy’s, had griddlecakes, which are like amazing crumpet things with butter and syrup (can I have a YUM!) and eventually got to go check in.

Our hotel is very nice, even though someone forgot to tell the americans about fitted sheets ;0) So we decided to have a nap after we checked in and get up to go have some supper… let’s just say we never got up! So 3am yesterday morning we were wide awake.

Like Nick said, we did the uptown tour yesterday. Mom we may have gone to the Guggenheim, but we didn’t look at any art. Dad was right, it’s really quite boring! But it’s cool to say we’ve been! We also did Maddame Toussades, which was AWESOME!!! So much fun. Jenny Ben, I took a photo with Johnny Depp just for you!

So American food… is amazing!!! Not sure if it’s just NY but so far I’m a happy girl! And because we’re walking sooo much, you don’t even feel guilty! Yesterday we went to Subway. They make Sandwich Baron look LAME! I had a Philly cheesesteak, which is a footlong. It was $5  and it was huge. I didn’t even nearly finish it. Plus they gave us free choc chip cookies. I ate Nick’s (giggle).

Wewent to this comedy show last night, and sat with (how weird is this?) 2 SAFA’s from Sandton!

Anyway, Nick  is getting antsy cos he wants is breakfast burrito, so I better get going.

Love you all, more later.

Ok, so the title is a little slow, but so are we it seems. For the country that has supposedly got the best connectivity in the world, they charge a fortune for internet access… to foreigners. If you use it in the hotel its $1 for 5 whole minutes. However we now have a T-Mobile sim card that has 500 anytime minutes, unlimited off peak minutes, unlimited data and text messaging and $5 of credit (sure I’ll need that when I use up all of my unlimited minutes). How much must that cost I hear you asking, well based on the hotel rate if you do some simple maths… a whole lot. But it is just $50 per month and thats higher because its pre-paid. You can get the same thing for between $25 and $29 on contract.

Anyway, enough of my tech ranting. New York is really incredible to see. There is so much that you have seen on TV that seeing it in real life feels rather weird. We went on one of the bus tours today and went to see some of the famouse landmarks. St Johns cathedral is totally mind blowing. The place is so massive it almost defies rational thinking. Back when it was built it must have seemed like an impossibility. We also went to the Gugenheim Museum (spelling could be way off on that one) which was pretty kewl. The art was a little much for me, but there was a Jason Statham movie recently where they had a shootout in there and I tell you it was pretty exciting reliving it. Some of the other patrons seemed a little put out with us yelling bang all the time though.

Well I am going to go and have a bit of a nap because we are going to a comedy club tonight and I dont want to fall asleep because that would make me a prime target for an angry comedian I think. So I will hopefully get some of the pics up later tonight or tomorrow

Yay, so like 23 1/2 hours til our plane leaves!

Judging by Nick’s obsession with this site (already I tell you), you’re going to have plenty to see! Anywho won’t bore you with mundane details of our Friday evening, just wanted to get on the record that the Walmart pictures were my brilliant idea, and so even though Nick is trying to take credit for it now, he’ll probably be chasing me through Walmarts telling me I, “can’t take pictures of people like that, it’s rude!” Which I plan to try and film as proof ;0)

Back to counting down the hours for me.
Later

So its almost time for us to leave. We wont be travelling on an Airbus A380 like Jen and Jonty and after confirming our tickets the minute they opened (somehow the whole plane was already booked) it looks like we wont be on an empty plane either. Hopefully we will still have a bit of space and if not we will just have to drink a whole lot!

We will post new content as often as we think of it and hopefully get some kewl pics to put up as well (really hoping for some dodgy Wallmart ones). Maybe I will learn a thing or two about this site as well and figure out how to do galleries and maps, but don’t hold your breath, Especially since we have an 18 hour flight ahead of us with no internet access, Craig… seriously.

Anyways, thats all for now. You guys can post comments or you could not and just look forward to my fantastic updates (future Nick’s problem).