Old Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread
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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 10:53 am 
 

bombadil wrote:Al, take a look at the Jets home schedule and let me know which game you'd like to see.  I'm fairly certain I can get you two tickets with awesome seats - at no cost.  

I'm serious!


hey i will do...good idea! tho i am not certain of the timing of the trip yet, so it may not be possible. i aint gonna lose any sleep over it though as i will get round to it one day anyway. if i dont manage to wangle that, sure we could arrange summit else to spend some hours chewing the fat :)

Al


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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 10:58 am 
 

Kingofpain89 wrote:
Sounds like fun Al.  I am sure a lot of people will chime in with great suggestions.  Do you have any idea about how long you plan to take to get from east to west?  If you plan on at least two weeks here are a few of my suggestions:

1) Boston.  Where else can you find a 250 year old church right next to a modern skyscraper?  Lots of historical sights and great food and drink.

2) Washington D.C.  The Smithsonian.  Air & Space museum, National Archives, Museum of Natural History, etc, etc, etc.

3) Philadelphia.  Philly cheese-steak.  'Nuff said.  :)  Oh yeah, they also have Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and a bunch of other historical stuff.

4) Colorado.  In my opinion the most beautiful part of the country.  If you want some specifics let me know.

5) San Francisco or San Diego.  Both are beautiful places to visit.  Never been to Seattle though.


been to san francisco and san diego, so not really bothered about seeing them again as i have done that. seattle is more than 90% certain to feature at the end of the trip.

colorado sounds interesting, though i aint great on my US geography so will need to go and look at a map to see whats possible, but i have made a note and will holler if its a possibility.

philly is where brian is? or is that pittsburgh? i know it begins with a P but cant remember :) sounds like there are some really cool historical things to see there, so that might be a good one to take in for me.

DC? ummm undecided on that one i have to say, though the museums sound cool - i quite like taking them in.

boston....this is gonna sound REALLY corny, but i have always wanted to go and sit at the cheers bar and order a beer. is it still there? is it a possibility?

thanks for chiming in KOP.

Al


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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 12:41 pm 
 

killjoy32 wrote:4. any MUST go to see places on the way?

Rhode Island for vineyards, farmland, harbors, and 300-year-old buildings where there should be a mega-city that looks like NYC.  A touch of Lovecraft . . .

New Jersey to see crowded urban blight and (disappearing) farmlands and forests separated by a short ride.  The Jersey Devil lives here, too.

Seattle for the Space Needle, Seattle Center, the Experience Music thingy near the Seattle Center, Farmer's Market, Capitol Hill, University of Washington, Boeing Air and Space Museum, HPB, the 520 bridge, the Fremont troll, the ferries, strip clubs, mushrooms, great hydro weed . . .

And nestled in the rainforest of Oregon is a park of concrete dinosaurs.

5. places to avoid?

Los Angeles, NYC, and Washington, D.C. because of traffic, population density, and crime.

  

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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 1:44 pm 
 

If you decide on Washington, D.C., in addition to all the usual sites (the  the Lincoln Memorial at night is gorgeous), you might want to stay in a hotel in Arlington, Virginia (the town across the Potomic River from D.C.) and then take a taxi across the Key Bridge into Georgetown.

This is the neighborhood around Georgetown University, and is full of unique pubs, restaurants and shops.  

Tell the cab driver ... slowly, as his English will be limited ... that you want to go to M-Street and dropped off in front of Clyde's pub.  The cabbie will know where it is.  It's a great place to get a beer, and the urban legend has it that it's the bar where John Kennedy and Richard Nixon used to drink together back in the 50s.

I highly recommend the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Virginia part of the Appalachian Mountains.  It's a breathtaking winding road through the mountains and it will also send you southward toward Atlanta, which appears to be one of your destinations.

I also agree with the posts above regarding Colorado (a must), as well as Northern California.  The Napa Valley is something you have to see to believe.

If you make it as far as Seattle, you should take a day trip over the border into British Columbia as well.

Good luck ...
Keith


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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 1:47 pm 
 

Also, steel yourself for some very long drives.  This country is about 3000 miles across (I'm guessing here), and some of these trips can become mind-bogglingly boring.

You'll see once you get to Texas  :wink:


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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:49 pm 
 

wahay thanks guys some really cool things to note there.

if it pulls off how i want to, i will be making the trip with someone else too, who will share the driving, so it will be totally cool.

one thing worthy of note though, is that you would be surprised what you find interesting, when you have never seen it before.

but youve given me some pretty excellent ideas to note down and think about.

Al


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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:06 pm 
 

As a British citizen, you might have trouble crossing the border between Canada and the US.  Not sure.  But maybe.

Maybe it is less of a hassle for members of the old commonwealth.

Lots of stuff to see in a small area in Seattle.  If nothing else, don't miss the Renraku Archology and the Aztechnology Visitors Center.

Mark  8)


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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:06 pm 
 

Keith the Thief wrote:Also, steel yourself for some very long drives.  This country is about 3000 miles across (I'm guessing here), and some of these trips can become mind-bogglingly boring.

You'll see once you get to Texas  :wink:


Imagine doing a North America road trip.  Fly into east coast US, drive across, then go north and drive back across Canada :)  Make sure to find a rental car company that offers unlimited mileage.

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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:11 pm 
 

FormCritic wrote:As a British citizen, you might have trouble crossing the border between Canada and the US.  Not sure.  But maybe.

Maybe it is less of a hassle for members of the old commonwealth.

Lots of stuff to see in a small area in Seattle.  If nothing else, don't miss the Renraku Archology and the Aztechnology Visitors Center.

Mark  8)


I don't think there would be much trouble on the Canadian border but maybe going back into the states.  I think you might need a visa for the US but probably not for Canada.  Also, if you are driving, do you have an international drivers license?  I'm not sure how it works for the British in the US but for Americans in the UK, they need to take a drivers test.  Canadians in the UK, can just exchange their drivers license for a UK one.

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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:15 pm 
 

If its on your route, you could also stop by Frank's bakery and pick up something for the road.

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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 6:03 pm 
 

FormCritic wrote:Lots of stuff to see in a small area in Seattle.  If nothing else, don't miss the Renraku Archology and the Aztechnology Visitors Center.

Mark  8)


Heh-heh... :twisted:

  


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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 6:13 pm 
 

Keith the Thief wrote:Also, steel yourself for some very long drives.  This country is about 3000 miles across (I'm guessing here), and some of these trips can become mind-bogglingly boring.

It is a big country, that's for sure ... Seattle to Miami: 3,420 miles. 8O

But we also have a country that can be mind-blowing in its natural beauty. When you're not busy hitting some of the cities that other folks have mentioned, Al, you should go out of your way and visit some of our natural wonders. There's too many to list here, but I'll add that any of the National Parks in Utah, Montana, Wyoming, or Colorado would take your breath away.

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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:12 pm 
 

You should try to make it down to the south.  I-10 is not a bad road, taking you through Pensacola, FL - beautiful beaches,  New Orleans - which my Louisiana cousin tells me is really back (after Katrina) in the French Quarter, then you can drive over a really scarily tall bridge in the Houston area, etc.  It's a good jumping-off road, and not as boring as driving through the middle of the country.  Oh, and if you should make it down here to Orlando, the Kennedy Space center is awesome, and you can take airboat rides over alligator infested waters on the St. Johns river!


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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:16 pm 
 

killjoy32 wrote:must admit the old route 66 does sound immensely appealing.

one thing i have found so far on my adventures, is that you can meet some absolutely amazing ppl (some obviously not so as well but you cant have everything). one thing i did want to do, clearly depending on route of course as well, was to meet some buds along the way. if route 66 goes near you guys down in texas, then yeah cool, it would rock to get to meet y'all! clearly the most sensible thing to do, would be to arrange a date and meet everyone at the same time. give mike an excuse to go swinging swords out back again :D

but yes, sounding good guys, making some cool notes here. i must admit, i would rather do more off-the-beaten-track stuff, rather than everything the other 50million tourists do...know what i mean?

Al


Following the Route 66 trail through Texas will take you right pas tthe Cadillac Ranch...google it if you want to know what it is.  Typical Texas craziness  :D

If you come through Texas, one of the off the beaten track locations is the Robert E. Howard house in Cross Plains.  It is waaaay off the beaten path, but you can walk right through the house REH grew up in, the streets where he lived (where not that much has changed), see the books in his library, etc.  Pretty cool.  

Dallas itself has the School Book Depository museum, in the building where Osward took the shots (or did he?????  8O ).  The atmosphere is great...dozens of nutcases roaming the streets in front of the building hawking all sorts of conspiracy books, and giving tours of the area with each weirdo giving their own unique conspiracy slant.  When they argue with each other (say, Mafia conspiracy guy arguing with Cuban conspiracy guy) it can be a laugh riot. The tour inside is very respectful and well done.  

BTW, don't stop to get authentic Mexican food anywhere but the Southwest (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Sothern California,etc). They call it Mexican food in the Midwest and NE, but I'm not sure what it is.  In Missouri have actually had picante sauce served to me made with KETCHUP!!!  And had a slice of AMERICAN cheese put on my enchiladas at a joint in Tennessee.  Yikes.

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Post Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:25 pm 
 

Mars wrote:
Imagine doing a North America road trip.  Fly into east coast US, drive across, then go north and drive back across Canada :)  Make sure to find a rental car company that offers unlimited mileage.


When we get a chance, my wife and I are going to do the complete Route 66 Trip, Chicago to LA, by car taking about a month or so.  We would only eat at diners and non-chains, and make sure to hit all the backroads.  We will probably only be able to manage one half at a time. unless we can someday afford to take a complete month off and maybe rent a RV.

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Post Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 1:10 am 
 

Does anyone offhand have a link to EXTSR's bakery's website?  My mom had ordered from them mail order a year or 2 back after I forwarded her a link, loved the goodies though she can't have them often due to diabetes and was thinking about ordering some more goodies to be shipped to a friend who's laid up in the hosipital, but we neither seem to have the link anymore.  TIA.

  


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Post Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 1:25 am 
 

killjoy32 wrote:must admit the old route 66 does sound immensely appealing.

one thing i have found so far on my adventures, is that you can meet some absolutely amazing ppl (some obviously not so as well but you cant have everything). one thing i did want to do, clearly depending on route of course as well, was to meet some buds along the way. if route 66 goes near you guys down in texas, then yeah cool, it would rock to get to meet y'all! clearly the most sensible thing to do, would be to arrange a date and meet everyone at the same time. give mike an excuse to go swinging swords out back again :D

but yes, sounding good guys, making some cool notes here. i must admit, i would rather do more off-the-beaten-track stuff, rather than everything the other 50million tourists do...know what i mean?

Al


I think U.S. Route 66 goes through Texas, but up in the Panhandle (around Amarillo).  The modern route--as a fair amount is either abandoned or under Interstate highways--is:

>  Chicago to St. Louis -- Interstate 55;
>  St. Louis to Oklahoma City -- Interstate 44;
>  Oklahoma City to Barstow, California -- Interstate 40;
>  Barstow to Los Angeles -- Interstate 15;
>  In Los Angeles, US 66 was (I think) Santa Monica Boulevard; it ended at the Santa Monica Pier, if I remember right.

Nice to see that Colorado is one of the places many of you all recommend or like to go ! :D   Of course, one of the places here to see is to go to the summit of Pikes Peak; I get to see it every morning, as the window above my computer faces west toward the Peak :D  :D.   And not just that:  Cave of the Winds, Garden of the Gods, the aspens turning in the fall . . . on and on.

  


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Post Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 1:26 am 
 

Reindeergamez wrote:Does anyone offhand have a link to EXTSR's bakery's website?  My mom had ordered from them mail order a year or 2 back after I forwarded her a link, loved the goodies though she can't have them often due to diabetes and was thinking about ordering some more goodies to be shipped to a friend who's laid up in the hosipital, but we neither seem to have the link anymore.  TIA.


Frank's bakery can be found here:

http://www.thebakershouse.com/


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