Swines before pearls

Ok so i have just been to the usa where i bought some pearls for someone
I drank margaritasI had a cold the whole time i was out there
AND i have some bacon in my fridge?

Au secours! i must have swine fev....erm... flu! NOT!

Look good people of Britain.
Be sensible. Wash. Sneeze in to hankies. Wash. Don't go to fucking A&E (call your own GP).
Wash. Dose yourself up (echinacea is fab). Wash. Don't go to A&E (bl**dy infecting every other bugger under the same roof) Wash.
In short - be sensible you panicking load of hypochondriacs.

the end.... but not for me - j'espere! eeek! ;0)

Swines before pearls

Jumping the Pond

April Fool's Day - hey yeah! let's go to the good ole U S of A!
J and I had already driven up to Runcorn to stay with M & S (hmmm! ....) S & M I mean.
(even bigger HMMMM!) Ok ok - the Hs. We stayed there overnight so we wouldn't have too early a start on wednesday morning to get to Manchester Airport.
We safely dropped Js car at the shuttle park and we were soon in arrivals joining the long queue to get thro' checking-in and going thro' security checks.
"Did you pack your own case?"
"No i asked a chap in funny headgear with a distinctly afghan accent brandishing an AK-47 and 3lbs of semtex explosives if he wouldn't mind doing the honours."
FFS! What a fucking stupid question. It demands a damn stupid answer but these people do NOT have a sense of humour.
So U S AIR
We don't care!... well actually, they were great. The stewards/esses were jolly without being unctious. The food was tasty. Quite a feat considering the loss of tastebuds whilst flying in a tube 40k above the planet.

interior of an airbus A330

As you see films are watched via the screen attached to the back of the seat in front. Not such a new idea but it is to me as i've not done long haul since the very early 90s.
This allows viewing of films, documentaries, shows. Or, listening to music.
I opted to watch MAX PAYNE (mark wahlberg) and THE DARK KNIGHT (christian bale and heath ledger). I preferred the latter but by god it's lonnng!
Soon we were winging our way into Philadelphia on time. Good bloody job.
We found ourselves in a lonnng queue to go thro... yes you've guessed it... fucking security.
Now let's think this thro - we've been on a flight with no access to anything else. We were checked at Mcr by US security. When on earth were we gonna acquire another 3lbs of semtex? or a couple of AK-47s? or whatever it is the scares the beejeebus outta these americans.
Oh silly me - the british invented Dr Who and the TARDIS. DOH! that must be it.
:::::::::::::sigh:::::::
So - whilst we queued for ever and a day we almost didn't make our connection from Philly to Chicago. If we'd be any less fit/slower then i'm not sure if we would've made it.
Marks DOWN for Philly security.

Woosh! an easy flight to O'Hare and we landed in one piece.
Everything was so simple there.
Never mind the break down.
And F had cooked us a wonderful turkey roast as a welcome to Illinois/USA/her home etc.
We were landed.
The next day, K, J and I(me) eL'd into downtown Chicago.
The experience had begun.
The architecture of Chicago is experiemntal and it works brilliantly. The old mixes in with the new. In that it reminds me a little of Paris

the Silver Bean (Millenium Park, Chicago)

How cool is that? you can go underneath and look up which makes for a great photo as well.
The food we tried was wonderful. K got us in to margaritas as well. OMG! Helloo america!

The next day our trip included F who took us to the John Hancock building (below)
This is home to the highest obsevation deck in the city despite the Sear's Tower being the daddy of the high rise in Chicago.

John Hancock building, Chicago

The next day was breakfast - american style. This was in Andersonville at Ann Sathers. Andersonville has strong connections with Sweden and is home to a slightly bohemian community. It had a good feel about it.

street furniture ANDERSONVILLE style

_____________________________________________
Welcome to WASHINGTON DC

We arrived by use of UNITED for a change. And it was a roomier flight which was nice.
A shuttle van took us to the hotel RED ROOF INN in Chinatown. It was great ebing able to see so many famous sights. noteably all the monuments that DC has.
Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial.......!

F had told us of a place that she and D had stayed in when they'd been in DC for the inauguration in january. Gordon Biersch. A brewery in it's own right with good food and plenty of teles to watch whoever was playing whichever sport that evening.
Space was at a premium when we entered but we made ourselves comfortable at the bar whilst waiting for a table to come free. I sampled the in-house beer whilst J and K reverted to margarita-ville ;0)
In the event that anyone stick their head on this and so happens to be visiting DC then GB is opposite the International Spy Museum! yup! I kid you not. Only in Washington DC!. That ain't a complaint either. It just amuses me.

Our one full day in the US capital had us board a double decker bus to tour the capital with a view that we should be able to hop on-hop off whenever we wished. Less said about that advertising the better!

Jefferson Memorial with Washington Monument in the background

Lincoln Memorial
big memorial for a big man

The Washington Memorial
- looking from the Lincoln and the scene of FORREST GUMP fame -

We took our chance on our final morning to visit Arlington Cemetary. The acreage is huge so we only had a chance to cover a fairly small percentage of the ground
Below, is the eternal flame that marks the JFK memorial

The Lockerbie tragedy ( as it's known in the UK) is also marked here. They brought over stones from Scotland for the memorial.

________________________________________________________
PENNSYLVANIA

Now was the time to chill a bit more. This was almost home-from-home. Chester Hills will carry a different set of happy memories in all our hearts.
we visted places but here was no rush. We ate american food and drank american drinks and enjoyed american hospitality at it's best.
Thanks to all the various members of the HOCKING family

In Amish areas they are quite apparent as they go about their daily business and everyone respects each others wishes whatever one's beliefs

Chevrolet CORVETTE 5.7L
American musclecar

What a great sound. And the roads around there would suit my wee 5 (Miata as they call them over there)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I have left out great chunks but it will trigger enough fond memories for me.
Despite having a cold I had a wonderful time.

Safe 'n' Sound

A quickie to say howdy to my blog.
Dear Blog - i am back. I am fine. How are you?
well... didn't quite get the info right.
Was met by katie and chap from over there at Chicago O'Hare as
opposed to meeting at Philly.

I will recount in significantly greater detail at a later date.

This is what got us out there.... Airbus A330 US AIRWAYS (of Hudson River splash fame)

This is what got us from Chicago to Washington DC mid-stay
A UNITED AIRLINES Boeing 737
And, repeat script - this is what returned us safely from Philadelphia to Manchester.
Well, this is the starboard engine of the A330 anyway.

That'll do for now
HAPPY DAYS!