Iceland

I had decided to vary my flights so I could stay a couple of days in Iceland.

The Iceland Air flight to Keflavik was good. We arrived around 11.00 p.m. and it was still light. By the time that I got to the hostel, a few lkms from the airport, it was past mid night and still light.   As I tried to get some sleep, I realized that I was coming down with a cold.

Blue Lagoon

I the morning I decided to go to the Blue Lagoon, which is one of the major tourist attractions in Iceland. I booked a trip on Reykjavik Excursions, one of two major tour operators in the place. It seen that they and Iceland Excursions have a classic duopoly.

The Blue Lagoon is a large thermal pool and spa. It is reasonably well done, well good changing rooms, showers and places to get some food and a drink. This includes a bar in the lagoons.

If you were a cynic you would say the place is really is just a big pool not suitable for swimming.

Reykjavik

Apparently people spend a day or more at the Blue Lagoon. I was over it after a couple of hours.

I headed into Reykjavik. First impressions were that it was a bit like Canberra – spread out and very car dependent.

There is really only one happening street, where people are out and about. Off that street I found that Café Paris. It seemed to be a happening place. Lots of locals were sunning themselves outside the café drinking and eating.

The food was ordinary and the beer weak and very expensive.

I caught the bus back to the hostel. By this stage I was feeling really crock.

Golden Circle Tour

I booked on a tour. This meant being picked up at 7.30 a.m. and heading back to Reykjavik. The tour is supposed to include the major tourist sights.

We headed off into the countryside. The first stop was a hydroponic tomato farm. The soup was nice, but that place was hardly the most interesting tourist destination.

The next stop was some Geysers. Apparently the one that did shoot 100 meters into the sky has gone to sleep. There is another one still operating. . If you have been to Rotorua in New Zealand , this place is a disappointment from a geysers perspective. However, the scenery around the area was spectacular, with mountains glaciers in the distance.

We then stopped at a waterfall that is feed by one of the glaciers. It is pretty spectacular.

The last stop was that National Park. This is interesting from the standpoint that it is where the American and European tectonic plates meet. Apparently they are now slowly drifting apart at the rate of 2 cms per year. This is a cause of the earthquakes in the area.

Back to Reykjavik

As we headed back to Reykjavik I got into conversation with a Scottish bloke who was serious world traveller. He had stopped over in Iceland en route to Alaska. He was “underwhelmed by the place”. He told me that he had been on the tour north to see a glacial lake. He said “the destination was OK, but you would have to like being on a bus for 12 hours to get there and back”.

I had another ordinary meal in a restaurant and feeling really crook, headed back to the hostel.

Ready to Leave

Because I am feeling so crook, I have decided to check into the Hotel near the airport. This should make my early morning get away easier.

Maybe because I am feeling so ill, I am like the Scottish bloke, underwhelmed by Iceland. They seemed to have developed a major tourist industry on not much. I am sure if you were heavily into wilderness stuff and had the time to do the walks on the glaciers, kayaking and horse etc, it would be ok.

Definitely don’t come here for the food.

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjY6zb25

New York

The Acela train from Boston is Amtrak’s fast train. I took the slow one. I was ok.

The countryside through Connecticut looks quite picturesque. I had wished that I had organised myself a bit better so I could have ridden some of the route.

I arrived in New York’s Penn Station. I had to put the bike back together, which to while. I then rode up the west side of Manhattan up to 103^rd street before heading towards Central Park and the hostel.

Times Square

I took the subway to 42^nd Street and checked out Times Square because that’s what tourists do.

I dropped into a pub called Langans. It is not owned by Michael Caine. However the barman told that so many people had asked if it was, that the owners decided to put a picture of the said actor and London Restaurateur on the wall.

Ride around Manhattan

I decided to ride around Manhattan. I had heard that the city had become ‘bike friendly’. This was the best way to find out if that is correct.

I headed across to Central Park and north to Harlem. There was a time went parts of Harlem were definite ‘no go areas’ for white honky’s. Certainly a lot of people never ventured north of Central Park.

It all seems pretty good now. In fact, it appears that parts of Harem are in the process of being gentrified.

I head south and back through the Park towards Mid Town. I had a really good lunch in a place in Union Square.

I then headed downtown to Battery Point and the 9/11 Memorial.

On the way uptown I went of the ‘High Line’ which is an old elevated freight line that was been converted into a pedestrian walk way. What a good idea.

I stopped off to take a picture of the Empire State Building and continued past the UN Buildings before heading west and north to the hostel.

Sorting Box for the Bike

I spent too long of my last day sorting out the bike. It did however give me the opportunity to see parts of the Queens district I never expected to see. It is a totally different (a touch 3^rd) world compared to Manhattan.

I did get back into Greenwich Village for a great meal.

Well that was New York.

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjY2c3Qu

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/513376731

Boston

I caught the train to Chicago at 9.30 p.m. It was full. As we headed off into the night I was able to get some sleep.

By morning the train had passed through the border into Indiana, through Ohio and into Pennsylvania. It then crossed in the state of New York, stopping in Rochester and Albany. We then crossed into Massachusetts and it was around 9 when we finally arrived in Boston.

The hostel I was staying in was in the Chinatown district. A 11 o’clock at night the area looked dodgy. I checked in and, on the advice of the receptionist, had a meal at a Malayan restaurant close to the hostel. There was group of blokes on a ‘Buck’s Night Out at a nearby table. If those blokes were his friends, I would have liked to have seen the groom’s enemies.

Dealing with the Bike

I had left the bike at the Amtrak station. You are permitted to collect checked luggage up to 24 hours after your trip.

Wanted to get more information on how Amtrak would cope with the bike on the next legs. I had begun to suspect that Amtrak and the other US passenger train operators are a bit like NSW trains. They can cope with a bike on long journey as long as it is in box. They can cope with bikes on short journeys as long as there are no panniers. They can’t cope with a bike with panniers.

This was going to an issue going forward. I would have like to have ridden some of the way from Boston to New York and taken the train for the rest of the route. This was not going to be possible.

Walk around

I went for a walk around the Boston Common and the Beacon Hill area. It is said that Boston is a very livable city – based on the walk, I agree.

I found a really good pub for a meal and few craft beers.

Tea Party and Other Stuff

You can’t go to Boston without going to the site of the Boston Tea Party, so next day, I did. The museum and the related tour were good. The Guides play characters on the time. There are also holograms of the key players and short film. It is all well done.

After that I walked around the harbour. This is now a very popular and very expensive, place to live.

I had a meal in Fish Café. I was a shocker. I must have chosen the wrong dish.

I also checked the USS Constitution. I seem to have a thing about old ships.

I ended going back to the same pub for a couple of pints. This craft beer is pretty good.

Next stop New York.

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjXYJZBQ

Chicago

I woke up a little late. The less than ideal sleeping arrangements of the train had obviously had an effect.

My first task was to regard my mobile WiFi. I decide to go to a Verizon Store. That turned out to be the best move. There are surprising few telcom provider stores in the USA, unlike Australia and the UK where Telstra and 02 etc. stores seem to be everywhere. I assume most Americans deal with these companies on line. That is probably a good thing – stores are not the most efficient way to go. However, dealing with a ‘person’ seems to be the best way I you are using a foreign credit card and have foreign ID when buying Wi Fi internet time.

Millennium Park

I then headed off to Millennium Park.   This is great public space. The centre piece is an open air concert stage designed by Frank Gehry, the renowned Architect. Check out the Flickr pictures and the URL below.

I had lunch in a bar that operates in the ice rink during the warmer months. It is has an excellent staffing policy.

Institute of Art

Next stop was the institute of art. It has an excellent collection of European Impressionist paintings Monet etc

Ferry ride

I wandered down to Navy Pier before catching the ferry back into the city. This is a great to see the amazing buildings including the Willis (formerly Sears) tower.

Elephant and Castle Pub

I had a quick meal at a English themed pub before catching the train to Boston

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjYyRVyY

Millennium Park Link

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park_-aboutthearchitectfrankgehry.html

East to Chicago

After three nights in Sacramento, it was time to head east. I made my way to the Amtrak station and loaded my bike into a bike box. The Amtrak boxes are great. They are long enough to take the bike without having to remove either wheel.

Climb after Sacramento

Shortly after leaving Sacramento, the route takes a steady climb. The scenery in pretty good, however as I was to find out later, even more spectacular scenery was to come.

After about 5 hours we crossed the border into Nevada and arrived in Reno, famous for its casinos, albeit not as developed as Las Vegas.

After dinner we continued across the ‘high desert’. This is a pretty desolate area.

I got into a conversation with a nice young (“not yet 40”) lady called Jennifer. She told me that she lived and worked in a ‘eco village’. I was not sure what that entailed. The village is evocatively called ‘Dancing Rabbit’. As the journey continued, I was to find out more about the village and Jennifer.

Mormon Graffiti Artist

As we chatted, we were joined conversation by a young bloke who told us he was a ‘Graffiti Artist’, originally from Salt Lake City. He was interested that I came from Australia, in the context that a bloke called Lush also came from Australia. Lush is apparently a ‘world famous graffiti artist’. I looked him up on the net. As I suspected he was principally responsible for the ‘Flinders Lanes’ street art in Melbourne.

As the conversation continued, it transpired that the young graffiti artist was from a Mormon family. He was definitively a ’lapsed’ Mormon. He also told us that he was returning to Salt Lake City for a court appearance related to a charge for graffiti. He told us that he was a well-known graffiti artist will several convictions. He had also spent some time in gaol (jail for my American readers). His expectation was that he will not be sent to gaol as a result of this court appearance.   He told us that his pervious experiences in gaol had not been pleasant. I took that as being an understatement. He told that at one point he was held in cell along with a convicted murderer and rapist.

As we chatted the ‘artist’ showed us examples of his work on his mobile phone. Some of his stuff was really good. Jennifer asked him heaps of questions. She was particularly intrigued as to how he could compose complex works without first having sketched them out on paper. He seems to have that ability to simple walk up to a train, or wall, and paint – with the outcome visualized in his head.

As it turned out, Jennifer was so impressed with the graffiti artist, that she gave him her business card with the possibility of commissioning him to paint a mural on a wall in her eco village. I later learned that he was keen to do the work, however, planned to bring two, or more, fellow artists long with him. Jennifer was not too sure about that.

Learning a bit About Amtrak

We arrived and left Salt Lake City early in the morning. The Rockies effectively start at that point. The train begins its slow climb across the desert and up into the mountains.

As we travelled, I got into conversation with an older bloke who made a yearly trip my train. He told me that he had a ‘Amtrak Credit Card’ and earned enough points during the year to pay for the trip. He said that his wife could not travel on the train for “health reasons”. He didn’t seem too fussed about that.

The bloke knew a lot about the route and issues related to Amtrak. The company is subsidized by the Federal Government to provide interstate passenger services. As you would expect, this is not popular with the conservative elements, both Republican and Democrat, in the Congress. The rolling stock is getting old (at least 30 years old) and is rapidly approaching the point of needing to be replaced. It appears that there is little chance that the required funds will be forthcoming. Another issue is that, with the exception of a some lines in the Northeast corridor between Boston , New York and Washington DC, Amtrak does not own the tracks. They have to use tracks owned by the freight companies, e.g. Pacific Union.

These companies are extremely profitable and would prefer to run more of their trains rather than allow Amtrak on their tracks. Apparently it is not unusual for priority to be given to freight trains over the Amtrak trains. This adversely impacts the on time performance of Amtrak.

The Scenery gets Really Spectacular

After lunch, the route began to follow the Colorado River. This is of course, the river that ‘made’ the Grand Canyon many miles downstream. At this time of the year, the river is at its fullest, and is a raging torrent.

At one point the line is on one side of the river and there is an Interstate Highway on the other. The highway incudes a bike track which is below the level of the road. In numerous sections, the bike path was under water.

As we continued, the rail line continued to follow that river. The highway veers away from the river. As such the only way to see the river at this point is to be on the train or in the river itself. This is a very popular, kayaking and rafting area. There were lots of rafts on the river. I am sure that would be an amazing experience.

We passed a section of the track where there had recently been a land slip. This forced the closure of the line and for several days and the train was redirected north through Wyoming. I had received an email some days earlier, altering me to the possibility that my train would be taking that route. Fortunately, the track was repaired prior to my departure; otherwise I would have missed the best part of the trip.

As we continued, we passed through a couple of ski villages, before reaching the highest point of the route. At this point the line goes through a tunnel. As with the whole way through the mountains, the construction of the tunnel was amazing engineering feat. The labourers were primarily Chinese. From what I understand, it was essentially slave labour.

After passing through the tunnel, the line starts the steep and relatively short decent down to Denver. The steepness of the terrain requires the line to take numerous sweeping turns. This culminates in an amazing set of 10 curves down to foot on the mountains. On the way down there are views of the Great Plains stretching across to the horizon. These continue all the way to Chicago and beyond.

Denver and Onwards

We stopped briefly in Denver . The station in Denver is being upgraded. I suspect that is a good sign.

Over dinner, I chatted with a couple of Dutch people. The woman, albeit Dutch, has spent most of her working life in France. The bloke was ‘very Dutch’. We talked about the recent European Parliament elections. The right wing parties, like Britain’s UKIP, that are against the EU, did well in the elections. The bloke appeared to be a supporter of these parties. The woman appeared to hold a contrary view. I am not sure how long that relationship will last.

After dinner, I had another long chat with the lady from the Dancing Rabbit eco village. It really sounds like an interesting place. Check out the link below.

Sleeping in the Vista Car

When I returned to my seat, I found that I had a very large neighbour. I decided to try sleeping in the viewing (or vista car). At least I was able to get horizontal.

The train was now heading across the Great Plains – lots of ‘much the same’. Jennifer left the train around 9.00 a.m. to head south to her village.

Into Chicago

I arrived into Chicago late in the afternoon and walked to the Hostel.   I was so good to have a shower. I head off towards Rush St, but didn’t make it that far, before finding a good brewery bar and restaurant.   The local Ice Hockey team was playing a Stanley Cup playoff game. A bit like Aussie Rules, it only seemed to get interesting towards the end.

I had fish and chips and a couple of good ales and headed back to the hostel and a really good night’s sleep.

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjXWixDQ

Dancing Rabbit Link

http://www.dancingrabbit.org/

Days in San Francisco and Sacramento

The hostel in which I stayed in San Francisco was in Mason Street, block away from Union Square. It is not far from the Sir Francis Drake Hotel where I stayed when I was last in the city. That was in October 1986 when I was on one of my Department of Foreign Affairs trips.

I can recall a couple of things from that particular stay back in 1986. I have posted about some of that trip before. Check it out if you haven’t read about Malcolm Fraser’s trousers.

Remembering when Malcolm Fraser (MHR) lost his trousers in October 1986.

Recalling 1986

On one of the weekends on that visit I went to a San Francisco 49’s American Football game. I had assumed that it would be a simple matter of going to the ground, Candlesticks Park, and buying a ticket. The concierge at the hotel looked at me if I was mad when I suggested to him that that was my plan. He told me that the games were sold out months, if not years in advance. He did say, however, that if was possible to buy tickets from people that had unused tickets at the ground. He warned me that you had to be careful to ensure they were ‘real tickets’ and not ‘scams.

As I alighted from the bus at Candlesticks Park, a bloke approached me and asked if I want a ticket. He seemed really pushy. I ignored the bloke as walked towards the stadium. I noticed a policeman and asked him if he thought it was ok to buy a ticket from the bloke. He said, “ I can’t give advice on that, but go for it”.

As it turned out, the bloke who sold me the ticket was a longtime ticket holder and had 12 tickets in a prime position in the stadium. He used tickets for family and clients for his business. I was introduced to his family and business clients during the course of the game. It went for hours and seemed to be interminable. They passed me beers and food to eat. I think the 49’s won. I thought I understood the rules after the 6^th beer, but that stage it didn’t really matter.

I do recall that the key player, the quarterback for the 49’s was Joe Montana. I will need to check if he has brain damaged as a result of repeated concussion. If the game went any longer that’s what I was going to suffer, given that hospitality been provided.

Haight Ashbury

Getting back to 2014, after a good night’s sleep I headed out into San Francisco. I walked around the downtown area around Union Square. It didn’t seem as affluent as I recall nearly 30 years ago.

I decided to take the bus to Haight Ashbury. This is the famous hippie area from the late 60’s and 70’s and is now a tourist spot. It is worth a visit, but like a lot of places that were authentic e.g Carnaby Street in Soho London, when they become touristy, they lose a bit of their charm.

I did however find a good Brewery Pub that had good craft beer and was well staffed.

Fisherman’s Wharf and Golden Gate Bridge

Next day I lined up for the cable car up Powell Street to Fisherman’s Wharf. This must be one of the most popular public transports systems on the planet.

I decided to walk from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a longer walk than I expected. Along the way, I came across lots of dog walkers. This seems to be a boom industry. That could be an option later in my retirement.

That night I spent probably too much time in a piano bar, Lefty O’Tooles, near the Hostel. Some of the singing was good. Some was not.

Science Museum and Planetarium

On my last full day, I decided to do some shopping. This included the purchase of a GoPro camera that I still haven’t mastered the use of as yet.

I also went to the Science Museum in Golden Gate Park. The walk through the park was interesting. There were heaps of ‘homeless people’ of all ages, both male and female. It is a bit disturbing to see. I suspect most of them have some sort of mental illness and should relay be in an institution. I suspect there are few, if any, of such institutions left here.

The Science Museum is really good. However, it is expensive. This is bit of a shock if you are used to going to such places for free. The planetarium is really good. They had a program on ‘dark matter’. It was well explained, but don’t ask me any questions about it.

Bus and Train to Sacramento

In the morning I rode down Market Street to the Pier, expecting to take the ferry across to Emeryville to catch the Capitol Corridor train to Sacramento. As it turned out you are expected to take a bus to the station. I did that.

The train to Sacramento was packed. I guess that is good to see.

Sacramento

I am staying in really good hostel in Sacramento. I was a mansion house. I am impressed.

The city is a bit like Canberra.

The ‘old town’ is very touristy, but there are some good restaurants and it has been a good place to take a pause before my big train trip east.

Flickr Links

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjYscKLx

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjXJUD3Z