Last Day

***Miles travelled today: shall add this tomorrow / next day as a final total after we've returned our lovely flash car (which Duncan, we know you like)

***Total Miles:

***States travelled through: still in Massachusettes

Well, I've begun to write this penultimate entry whilst Linz has gone down to the bar to borrow their corkscrew opener as we're Having to drink the final bottle of 'Very-Nice-Ice-Wine' . As everyone already knows, it feels strange to say our adventure has come to an end as we're expecting that tomorrow we'd wake up, have breakfast and move on to a different experience, another State. The fact is, is that we've settled into this 'way of life'; almost like travelling, exploring and learning have become our 'reality' if that makes sense. Everyone says that learning 'requires time' to assimilate and we've decided today, that in a few years time; we'll broaden our horizons once again. That should be enough time to assimilate and to agree where the next few destinations will be, but in the meantime, we return to work next week in our attempt to pay off this experience :) (I'm guessing there are already work 'opportunities' awaiting our return).

Just as an aside, the Ice Wine we're drinking is the 2008 Late Harvest from the winery we visited on Niagara-on-the-Lake many many weeks ago and I'm figuring that if my writing goes off on tangents that make no sense, Linz will translate into English when I read the entry back to her.....which reminds me (and to answer some questions we've been asked).....our entries are 'jointly' written unless the other is asleep or slightly tipsy. By 'jointly', we mean that one 'authors' the entry whilst the other agrees or passes comment and the 'author' may / not decide to act upon 'said contributions' - and that is how we've avoided any potential mishaps [which we realised there Would be from the email we initially sent everyone with our blog address as that very short message, took us both ages - simply because we write / speak differently =) Linz says she writes factually whilst I 'write flower-y' ].

Back to this quest coming to an end.....

Given the beautiful day today, we thought it would be lovely to take a scenic drive around the Cape Cod Peninsula as opposed to travelling to Martha's Vineyard. This was because we hadn't pre-booked tickets and by the time we got down to the ferry port, the stand-bys were sold out. Well, a good day is not to be wasted and so we made our way through villages that appeared quaint and provincial, stopping at a market to have lunch before carrying on our way. We felt quite carefree as we listened to this Portuguese radio station that not only played 'Portuguese Country' (go figure) but played music that reminded us of family back home in South Africa -whenever we play Portuguese music in the car, it reminds us of Charlie (brother-in-law) who has to have it on full blast when travelling anywhere, and so today, like on so many other days; we've carried special people with us.

Our discussions today and of late, have again been typically thoughtful and poignant and at times, very funny. The feelings are surreal and although we've been winding down; it's with that same feeling of 'not believing it's happening' . We've both learned so much - Linz says she's learned 'not to be too stressey about stuff' and I've learned that 'there Is still a World of opportunities to live and explore'.

What we've also learned and would like to thank people for, is their generosity of spirit in keeping up with our blog. Although we never set out to write every day; comments and questions have Made this blog - because without them, the blog would be merely a representation of our trip - our point of view and not how others have experienced our photographic representation of our encounters.

And so for this, we both thank you. Hope you've enjoyed the journey with us.

Sus - Tia Linz took the picture of the duck just for you. Only three more sleeps and we'll see you on Thursday.

XXX

More relaxing

***Miles travelled today: not many...

***Total Miles:

***States travelled through: still in Massachusettes...

(This entry is for both yesterday, Saturday 24th July and today, Sunday 25th...)

...so we have had a weekend of doing virtually nothing... we took ourselves off for a drive yesterday after breakfast, firstly to the mall... and then off to Hyannis town...

We parked up outside a scrapbooking shop... which I have been trying to avoid... as I cannot 'only' spend, a few dollars - the bill always amounts to hundreds of dollars...

...anyway - I have slowly been developing ideas for our albums... and when we were in the shop we found little number plates with the state names... we just had to get them... unfortunately they did not have Maine or New York... but we ended up with 17!!! I can't believe that in our travels we have touched on 19 states... some of them were just very briefly travelled through on the interstate, but we have a total of 19!!! Wow!!!

We then went off for a bit of a drive... before making our way back to the hotel - where we actually had afternoon siestas!!! The longer we spend doing nothing - the more tired we seem to be!!! I think that all we have done in the past 12 weeks is finally catching up with us!!! Neither of us can actually believe that 12 weeks ago tonight we were staying at Janice and Marina's, getting ready to fly off to Boston!!!

...this morning, Sunday... we went off for a bit more exploring of 'the Cape' - and headed down to Falmouth... in England we pronounce it 'Fal-myth' - in America they pronounce it 'Foul -mouth'... another lovely little town/village...

it's been really hot and muggy... and this afternoon we simply spent relaxing at the pool (both of us in the shade - would you believe) and reading... this evening we were off to the harbour at Hyannis, and we had a lovely seafood supper at 'Spankie's Clam Shack'...

We have discovered that on our flight back home there is no weight limit on your hand luggage... which is really interesting... so we have had to move some bits and pieces around... and Jay's hand luggage, is now filled with all sorts... we don't even want to consider how much it weighs... the condition that they put on your hand luggage is that you are able to lift it into the overhead compartment 'unaided'!!! So she is now bench pressing her hand luggage case!!!

We noted something interesting on our 'blog comments' as well... there is a comment added from a certain car rental company, after we moaned and complained on the blog... which is fascinating as they were never given the blog address - but must somehow have their name tagged on blogs!!! Mmm... very 'big brother-ish'!!!

So - tomorrow is our last day... we are planning on going to Martha's Vineyard... a two hour ferry trip from Hyannis harbour... and then we will be on our way home!!!

Doing Nothing

***Miles travelled today: to be added to the final total

***Total Miles:

***States travelled through: Massachusettes

So, this is a combined entry for Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd July 2010

Yesterday, we did... absolutely nothing (Jay says 'Nada')! Jay spent the day at the pool and I spent the day reading.... that's about it.

We had planned to go kayaking however it was actually too hot during the heat of the day and by late afternoon, when we went down to hire the kayaks, the guy suggested to us that as the tide was coming in and we were not regular kayakers, that it was not the best time to go out. We have decided to take this up as a summer sport on Sandbanks when we get home. Jay reckons she'll feel safer cos if she falls out, she can just stand up as the water will be no deeper than her knees.

We then took ourselves off for a late lunch / early supper and ended up at a 'lobster shack' which was clearly a popular joint. We found it fascinating to watch two little girls aged about 5yrs and 7yrs; each individually making their way through a whole lobster. They certainly knew their way around it better than we did. We laughed trying to imagine Suzi's face if a lobster were placed on a plate in front of her when she goes beserk at 'Portuguese style' prawns with their heads on.

And so onto today, we left Provincetown at about eleven this morning; anticipating we would do a spot of shopping and maybe take a few more photos; however there was Not a parking spot in site; so we decided to say 'good-bye' to Provincetown and head towards our final destination. We are still on Cape Cod, but now in an area that they call the 'Mid Cape' in a town called 'Hyannis'. It's odd to see things everywhere referencing 'The Cape' as for us; the 'Cape' references Cape Town and surrounding areas. We have booked ourselves into a hotel for the last four nights. This is the last hotel and is number forty two of our holiday. Having checked in, we made our way down to the town where unfortunately the rain curbed our exploration. We asked if there was a 'cinema' in town and were directed to the Cape Cod Mall and I thought we had successfully avoided malls and here we are!!! Anyway, we went to see 'Salt', the latest 'spy/thriller' with Angelina Jolie, released today which was actually quite good. We will no doubt be returning to the mall tomorrow as Jay's beady eyes caught something she's interested in. In the meantime, she's catching up on her newspaper reading! So, not may photos to choose from, but a couple for you to look at. We have added a website all about Cape Cod onto the Handy Hints section.

Suz - find Hyannis on your map and put a sticker on it.

...there are no words...

***Miles travelled today: absolutely none in the car - but a few on foot and in a boat!!!

***Total Miles:

***States travelled through: In Massachusettes...

(This entry is for yesterday Wednesday 21.07.10)

The best comment of the day came from Jay about mid afternoon... "I feel like I'm on holiday..." Mmmm... I did remind her that we have actually been on holiday for 11 weeks and 2 days... but no seriously today has been very relaxing... we woke up at 08h45... that's the latest this entire holiday... I think the jet lag is catching up... anyway, we spent the morning at the pool... we are just reading and doing nothing... it was mid afternoon by the time we ventured into the town... I have never seen so many bicycles... parking is an absolute nightmare and so there is a bike rental company on nearly every corner... so tourists ans residents alike are all our cycling...there is a parking lot at the beach simply for bikes!!!

...anyway, we found a lovely little spot for a bite to eat and people watch...

we had decided that we wanted to go out on a whale watching tour... so having booked our tickets, we made our way down to the pier, and we were soon out on the boat... Now then, the company 'guarantees' sightings of whales... mmm... I may have spent nearly three months relaxing, but I am still sceptical... We headed out - and it seemed that we were going somewhere in particular... I said to Jay, that there was a huge cage in the sea, some miles out, and that when we got above it, we would see the whales... Jay was not impressed, and said that the little girl standing next to us would be off asking her Mom about the cage for the whales!!!

...I need to say that when we got onto the boat, Jay stood at the very front, the little bit that juts out... and there she stayed - she had the best spot on the boat - and she was not moving... if any whales were going to be seen, Jay was seeing them first!!!

...well - they actually had a marine whale expert on board as part of the commentary, and he was fascinating to listen to... and we saw a pod of three whales some 20m or so from the boat... he was able to tell us who they were, and one included a whale they call 'Salty' who they have been watching off this coast for the past 35 years since the study of whales began... every whale has unique markings on their tales, and so they all have names, so that the marine biologists are able to track them... one of the questions asked of him was how long whales actually live... he said that as they have only been studying them for 35 years they do not know... but... he said that the Eskimos in Northern Alaska are the only people who are legally allowed to hunt whales... and that every year, each whale that they kill, the Eskimos notify the marine biologists, providing them with photos of the whales tale so that they are able to tell the name of the whale... apparently last year they killed a whale, and embedded deep into the whale fat, the Eskimos found an arrow head that they have not used for over a hundred years - suggesting that the whale had been 'almost' caught many years ago...

Well, we carried on with the journey and came upon a pod of seven Humpback whales, six adults and a calf... well - I have to say, what an amazing experience... the whales were - at times - less than five metres from the boat... one of them actually swam right under the front part of the boat, and flipped his tail right at the side of the boat - any closer and he would have been on board... unfortunately the camera is not brilliant at close ups.... but we did manage to get a few shots of the tails... as they breached and then flipped their tails out of the water... we were at times so close that you actually saw their blow-holes, which look like huge nostrils... at times the sheer force of the water being blown out, would come over the boat... and as the marine biologist gut said, "It's considered very lucky in fishing circles to be hit by 'whale snot'!!!"

We watched and waited, as they would dive down for up to ten minutes at a time... then they would surface again and play on the water - before diving down again...

...as for why they were in that specific place... no whale cage... every year they return to the same waters...

We were out for nearly four hours, and as we were coming back into Provincetown harbour, the sun was setting... although it was muggy and looking like a storm was brewing...

We walked through the town and found a lovely spot for supper looking over the water...

...then made our way back to the hotel, where we were too tired to blog!!!

flags, flags and more flags...

***Miles travelled today:

***Total Miles:

***States travelled through:

This entry is for yesterday Tuesday 20th July... I think jetlag... or the fact that we went for a night without sleep - caught up with us as we were both fast asleep by 8pm...

Right, having had no sleep either at the airport or on the plane (this was a Red Eye flight), we arrived in Boston to the prospect of 'having to sort the car out'. Well, we'd decided that between us, Linz would deal with the representative as she felt 'calm and pleasant' unlike another woman who was 'f...ing and blinding' because she wasn't getting her way. Well, stars all round for Linz as it appears to be sorted although we still need to check our bank statements to make sure. Whilst 'keeping an ear' on the discussions, I spotted a few potential cars for us and in particular - a sexy, understated number with her top down (folks - I'm looking at cars) - but clearly out of our range and Not the convertible we'd already booked. How can you explore Cape Cod in an enclosed car - something we'd already decided back home some months ago. As it turns out, our emails 'of concern' to the manager not only prompted an immediate response from her, but also guaranteed us a better reception and....guess what....you got it.....another upgrade! The model we'd booked wasn't the one we got, but the sexy one I had my eye on, had 'our name on it'. It's a Chrysler Sebring Soft-top Convertible Were we Happy or what? Now people might think that it's only me who does the snob-value thing but I laughed when Linz said, "THIS is OUR car!!" as she shook her shoulders in that 'you-can't-touch-this-gangster-move' {guys, this move applies to really nice hotels too}

And so, convertible 'in hand', we made our way to our English-sounding accommodation (Inn on the Moors). I'm not seeing any moors but lots of beach dunes and tidal flats. Our room looks out over the tidal flats of the National Marine Sanctuary and we hope to kayak through these in the next few days. Thinking about this place, one would be forgiven for thinking we've driven through the south of England with names like: Weymouth, Taunton, Truro, Somerset and even a Wareham.

Having unloaded the car and being somewhat hungry and even more tired now, we reckoned we'd feel better by finding some place nice for a light meal. Driving into the village of Provincetown, we were simply overwhelmed. There's one main road that goes through the village and people believed this was a pedestrianised walkway and so it took us 15min to do 750m! The top was down, our music was playing - talk about cruising and Linz was loving it (can you believe it!). If we thought Seattle was alternative, we can't think of a word to put to Provincetown. Not only was it heaving with people, but bursting with restaurants, nick-nacky shops and wine bars. Provincetown is known for attracting alternative lifestyles and is clearly very diverse and accepting. Having not seen one rainbow flag for the last eleven weeks, they are out in abundance in this village. This was also historically, a settlement for Portuguese fisherman and so there is also a strong Portuguese heritage evidenced by all the Portuguese flags flying. Low and behold, we found a South African cafe called the 'Karoo' where we stopped for an 'authentic' bite to eat with Linz actually trying 'Durban Bunny-chow' (no bunnies involved, just beef stew). The Portuguese bakery served our need for Malasadas as desert before we stopped a while on the beach. We didn't stay long as it felt like we could 'just stay there and sleep' and instead, headed back to the hotel where we passed out.

...looking forward to a week of doing nothing!!!

***Miles travelled today: mode of travel today... foot and taxi... so far!!!

***Total Miles:

***States travelled through: Washington State

Okay - so this morning started off not very well - we checked our credit card statement to ensure that the payment taken out on friday in respect of the 'third' rental period on the Jeep had been reimbursed... well, it doesn't yet show up in terms of the dates... but what we did notice was that it looked like we had spent nearly £1000 more than we had reckoned... and as we have been vigilant in doing our budget every week - this was not good!!! On checking through the statement, we noticed that National car rental had taken nearly £950 (that's pounds - not dollars... dollars would have been bad enough but pounds made it worse!!!) out on the 8th of July... our supposition is that this payment would have been for the 'second' rental period, as they needed to do it in three separate agreements... as the rental period was so long!!! Well, that's a total of nearly $2000 that they have had - so one can imagine the tone of the e-mails that were sent off... to National, to the car hire company that we originally booked with... phone messages left for the manager at Boston... so, it's a good thing that we are heading back there - because I think this will need to be sorted in person!!!

...anyway, we needed to check out of the hotel by noon, but we left our luggage, and went off for coffee... and to calm down...

...Seattle is seriously into coffee... you can actually do 'coffee' tours... sitting in a little coffee cafe, not one of the huge chains, it was interesting to listen to the conversations among the patrons and the barrista... serious coffee buffs!!!

...anyway, we then went off to 'Borders', just to look and read... as no heavy purchasing could be done...

We arrived at the airport, as we do with plenty of time to spare... whilst checking in, with not even 500grams to spare... we asked if it was okay for us to have the three bottles of Ice Wine... that we purchased way back in Niagara... as hand luggage... we were informed that we couldn't... so we would have to leave them or pack them in the main luggage... well, we put them in a huge bag... and packed them in the main luggage... we are now keeping everything crossed that they don't break... but it added to the weight... so - if they make it through we will have to drink them in Cape Cod... so those that were getting Ice Wine... mmm, maybe not!!!

We had a lovely meal... Tina this picture of Jay... with bib... is especially for you!!!

So - having checked in, see photo of flights to Boston - guess which one we might be on... yes... the one that is delayed by 2 hours!!!

So we are sitting at the gate - and it is amazing to see how people pass the time - obviously there is me... blogging... there is someone doing patchwork, a guy doing crosswords, many people tip tapping on their laptops... and everyone else doing 'something' on their phones!!! And a few people have gone off to look at shops... guess who one of those might be???

...as to the title... you'd be forgiven for thinking that it was a statement made by Jay... actually it's something I said to Jay earlier... it seems odd waiting at the airport... it feels like we are going home... but obviously we aren't as we have another week!!!

...I meant to add on yesterday's entry... whilst we were on the bus yesterday we went past the stadium, where they were having a soccer game... loads of people had vuvezelas!!!

Sunset in Seattle...

...these are some photos from the sunset harbour trip... from last night.

No Sleepless in Seattle for us...

***Miles travelled today: ...today we have travelled by bus, boat, taxi and foot...

***Total Miles:

***States travelled through: Still in Washington State...

(This entry is for Sunday 18th of July... as we were too tired to blog last night!!!)

Okay, so after getting up and out this morning - we were on our 'hop-on-hop-off' bus exploring the city again... what we have discovered about the weather here in Seattle - is that due to Mount Rainier, on the outskirts of Seattle, which due to it's sheer size, it creates weather patterns all of it's own, which affect the weather in Seattle... so on waking up every morning, it has been really grey and muggy, but then as the day progresses this 'burns off' and the sun shines through with lovely blue skies...

...we got off down at the water front, although as it was early on a Sunday morning, not much was open, so after a bit of exploring, we made our way up to the shopping district... where we went in and out of a few shops... I say a few as not much shopping can be done, as our suitcases are all at their maximum weight... (when we dropped the car off on Friday we decided to go into the airport and just weigh our suitcases - to see if we had any weight to play with... well, surprise - surprise - we don't!!!) ... but apparently that doesn't stop one from window shopping!!! So, I just find a nice book store and read, and we set a time to meet up!!!

...anyway it was about mid afternoon, that we found ourselves, once again, at the market... all roads lead to the market... and once in the market you cannot help but take photos!!!

...we stopped off for some lunch - and then went to a little cafe where we watched the world go by, as we wrote postcards!!! It was at the end of the day for the market stall holders and so it was interesting watching them all pack up... their lives must be really hard... getting up in the early hours of the morning... needing to have everything at the market already by the time the stalls open at 06h00 - and then their days run to 5pm - but the packing up took forever... and this happens seven days a week, every day of the year, except Christmas Day!!! Wow!!!

We wanted to watch the sunset over Seattle tonight, so we walked down to the water front... and then decided to take a sunset harbour tour... which was absolutely lovely, getting us back to the waterfront at about 9pm, just as the sun was setting...

We then decided to have our 'roadtrip celebratory' dinner... as it was our last night in Seattle... so we went to a lovely seafood restaurant - specialising in oysters!!! Uugghh!!! But - Jay loves them... so we had an amazing meal... and had decided that we would walk back to the hotel, as we didn't think it was too far... but, we soon decided to catch a taxi... and it was actually nearly three miles!!! Wow!!! had we walked that far during the day to actually get down there???

(We couldn't decide on the photos to upload... so we've put some 'quirky' ones on for the day, including one of the 'gum wall' we referenced yesterday... and then another five for the evening!!!)

...mostly musicians...

... as we couldn't decide on which photos to upload - these are the ones of the various street musicians we took... as well as the photo of the market sign... that appears in many of our photos today... obviously the time changes... which will help with scrapping of course... as every photo needs to be put into the album in chronological order!!!

...more exploring in Seattle...

***Miles travelled today: ...today we travelled by bus... and by foot...

***Total Miles:

***States travelled through: ...still in Washington State.

Okay...so today we could not quite decide on what photos to put on the blog... and so we have put 10 on... the first five are just general pictures of our day, and then the next five relate to musicians... as Jay commented yesterday, every corner has a street performer, all trying to have you stop and listen...

...we made our way to the - you guessed it 'hop-on-hop-off' tour bus... which was actually just on the next block to the hotel... the weather was not too brilliant this morning and so it started off with grey skies... but as the morning progressed the sun came out, making the day alot brighter... having toured around the city, we got off at the market and found an interesting little cafe to have breakfast... it's where there was a scene filmed with Tom Hanks from 'Sleepless in Seattle'... so that's their claim to fame... or one of them... as they have actually been in the market since the 1940's... so I guess they were doing fine without Tom!!! But - having a little plaque on the stool saying that it was where he sat during the making of the movie, made for interesting chat... The waiter had a bit of a problem with Jay's accent... and 'decaf coffee' somehow sounded like 'tequila'... which, had he not checked it with us, he probably would have brought as her morning drink... we have discovered during our travels, that for some reason people have more difficulties understanding Jay's accent... and so when talking over the phone we have actually resorted to using the 'Police Phonetic Alphabet' in spelling names and e-mail address... so that's another thing we've learnt this holiday... ('holiday' - that's hotel - oscar - lima - indigo - delta - alpha - yankee!!!) ...and it seems that the longer we stay in America, the more South African I sound!!! (...and I don't even have to be drunk - as it usually only comes out after a bit of alcohol... as most of you know!!!)

...after breakfast we explored the market a bit more... we have discovered that it seems that most of Seattle exists around Pike Place market - it actually gets up to 40 000 visitors a day... and the market is open every day except Christmas day!!! It is like nothing we have ever experienced... so naturally we needed to take some more photos... the flower sellers are amazing... there are literally hundreds of them, constantly making up bouquets of flowers... I spoke to one of the young women, most of whom look Korean... she said that they start at 06h00 in the morning and it is continual until the market shuts down at 17h00...

We found 'Post Alley', where I found myself a little spot on a stairwell and took numerous photos... I was able to get a close up of one of the sellers slicing into a peach... which I really like!!! Words cannot describe the colours, sights, sounds and smells... it just hits all your senses...

...there is actually a 'famous Gum Wall' in the market... said to be the second most unhygienic place in the world... second only to the 'Blarney Stone'... apparently - I'm not quite sure where some of the tour guides get their information from!!!

We then went off in search of the 'Space Needle'... as we have gone up high in every other city, to take photographs... we needed to do it here too... well, as the sky had cleared, we decided to seize the opportunity and do it, just in case it's not clear tomorrow!!! We were able to take some fantastic photos, although, looking out over the water, called Pujet Sound, the haze and pollution is quite scary, it really hinders the view...

...we relaxed on the grass under the tower for a while - just taking in the sights and sounds of the city... Seattle has to be THE most diverse city we have ever come across, what a mix of people... in every sense of the word...

We made our way back to the market (not quite sure what Seattle would be like if not for the market!!!) and went to a small place that had been recommended in terms of the best Clam Chowder in the city... well, it was fantastic... although Jay has already learnt to ask the question, "does it have bacon in it???" having been caught out a few days ago... who would've thought they'd put bacon in seafood!!! ...anyway, whilst sitting there, there was a street performer less that two meters from us, a gentleman from Peru, playing the panpipes and a Peruvian guitar... Jay asked him what it was called, but now can't remember, so we'll go with 'Peruvian guitar'... so there we stayed for the next hour simply listening...

...we walked back to the hotel, via some of the shopping district - although I informed Jay that she needed to keep her eyes closed - As we're going exploring in the shops either tomorrow or Monday - today was just a 'taster'!!!

...how could we forget, Seattle's other claim to fame is 'Starbuck's Coffee'... there are actually 188 separate 'Starbucks' cafes in Seattle alone... and... the other famous coffee company in Seattle called 'Seattle's Best Coffee', is actually owned by 'Starbucks'... simply due to the fact that 'Starbucks' wanted to purchase a store from 'Seattle's Best Coffee' and the owners wouldn't sell - so the owners of 'Starbucks' just bought the entire company, in order to get that one store...

...have added a website all about the market in our 'handy websites' above...