USA: Part II

Dallas

We arrived in Dallas after the most barebones flight ever, that makes Easyjet look fancy. With announcements like, ‘we’re even going to charge you a whole $3 for water,’ ‘when the oxygen mask comes down, you’re going to have to decide which kid you like the most,’ ‘should Spirit airlines turn into Spirit cruise lines, grab your lifejacket.’ An interesting flight!

We arrived to be greeted by our next host…my friend Asad!! We worked together at KPMG London, having joined at the same time, and he transferred to Dallas to be with family at the start of this year. It was lovely to see him again, and he picked us up in his swish new Mustang! When in Rome…

We stopped off in downtown first and took a walk around in the heat, which was pretty intense. I don’t know how he can manage to live here with this weather, but I guess he’s used to it, being from Pakistan.

We visited the spot where JFK got shot and the building he supposedly got shot from. Lee Harvey Oswald was the supposed shooter who was eventually shot by Jack Ruby, who linked to the Mafia and supposedly poisoned whilst in prison until he died of intestinal cancer.

There were so many conspiracies and conclusions to the shootings, it’s hard to know what the real motive would have been.

We saw some amazing buildings, one of which had a good 100 fountains outside, and wandered through little gardens. It quite reminded me of being in Canary Wharf- we even walked past the KPMG building and saw the new one they were going to move in shorty.

We drove to Arlington to see the baseball. It was a huge stadium, several tiers with escalators everywhere. It looked like a mall in some places; so many places to eat, a supermarket, candy cane up on poles, popcorn everywhere. It was an exciting atmosphere, and a lot of people had brought their whole families to watch the game.

It was a lot of fun to watch, but I can’t say I understood all of it. Even Luke wasn’t entirely sure – bombarding Asad with questions. There was even a lot of in between bits, with cameras focusing on dancing audience members, races across the green by mascots and prizes being announced.

We went back to Asad’s that night and met his brothers and his lovely mother. She was so sweet and welcoming, and we were so grateful for the comfy bed!

They were all fasting, which I can imagine is unbearable just for the thirst in this weather, but Asad, as I know, is tough as steel when it comes to fasting!

We slept in the next morning until nearly 12! I can’t remember the last time we had a bed, let alone the most comfy one in the world. Breakfast was laid out for us, and they even got Luke soya milk which was so sweet of them. Asad, Luke and I went off to walk the Katy trail. It was lovely to just be out walking, and surprisingly there were bamboo shoots on one side, just slightly covering up some beautiful homes. I love looking at houses, and here they all seemed to be different styles which were amazing. After deciding it was too hot, we turned back, thinking 3 miles in total was enough for such a hot day.

We headed to the cinema after that for some much needed air-con and to be a bit of a kid again…we were watching Jurassic World! I don’t care if I should be growing up, I loved Jurassic Park and was so excited to see this, and it didn’t disappoint…I even jumped out of my seat at one point!

After the film, we headed back to Asad’s and an unexpected meal that Asad’s mum had made, some delicious veggie dishes (and for the sane ones in the world, some amazing chicken on the side). I can’t remember the last time we had a meal like that- nothing beats home cooked food! It really made me miss being at home with my mum…




Rodeo time!

After another epic sleep that night, we got dropped off at the train station to make our way to Fort Worth whilst Asad was at work. Unfortunately our train times didn’t work so well that we ended up waiting an hour and a half for one so by the time we got to Fort Sorth, we only had time for one museum before taking a bus to the Stockyards. We had a walk around this really cool district, full of old western buildings and diners. There were plenty of shops selling cowboy hats and boots, and antiques everywhere. The big horned cows were even out, posing for pictures.

We met Asad and his cousin there after they finished work. And we went to the Rodeo in Cow town coliseum! It was so exciting, and most people had their cowboy boots on to come watch the twice weekly show.




A real American cowboy

They started off with the national anthem before kicking off with some bull rides. There were so many things going on – cowboys on their horses were lassoing calves and then tying them up, horses were darting across the arena getting around metal drums, teams were lassoing the back and front of calves. My favourite event was watching children running after a sheep, and slightly older ones after a calf. The poor animals, they didn’t stand a chance! There was even one young girl who started wandering off across the arena by herself, trudging in the dirt before they even released the sheep- she didn’t know what she was there for at all!

Afterwards we all headed to the well known Billy Bob’s – a huge honky tonk which could take thousands of people. It was amazing – pool tables everywhere, handprints from bands or artists that have played there, 27 bars, line dancing (which we all tried, but the boys bailed on early)! We watched the band for a bit and also played some pool, and by that I mean Luke beat us all pretty effortlessly.

The next morning Luke and I packed up ready to leave for the megabus to take us onwards. We said goodbye to Asad’s mother, who had been so kind to have us to stay, and she even gave us some gifts which was lovely of her. Hopefully will see her and her family again soon.

We were dropped off at the megabus stop by Asad and said our goodbyes. It was really sad to leave, but lovely to have spent some time with a friend. It’s been 6 months to the date since we left, so it was great to break the journey up with some normality.

Houston

The megabus pulled up and we got on for our trip to Houston. It was 4 hours and went pretty quickly. We only had a few hours in Houston when we arrived at 4pm before we took our next bus that evening at 11pm to New Orleans.

So we grabbed some delicious Mexican food and some beers and hung out for a bit before taking a stroll to Herman Park. It was a beautiful city park which had fountains everywhere, a massive lake with turtles in the water and monuments sticking out of the trees that caught your eye. We even got to see a bit of live theatre that was being rehearsed on one of the outdoor stages there.

We grabbed a couple more beers that evening and discussed where our next stop would be after America. Ideas were flying around – Aruba, Haiti, DR, Cuba, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama…

Decisions still not yet made, we got on our next bus to New Orleans (Nola), where they blasted the air con all night until we arrived at 6am in Nola to be defrosted.

New Orleans

We were met by Boz, our next couchsurfing host. He was a great guy, very knowledgeable about the city and easy going. He had just finished a night shift so kindly agreed to meet us early that morning.

We spent the first half of the day catching up on lost sleep (it’s hard enough to sleep on a bus, let alone one that feels like a freezer).




Cute shops in New Orleans

With two days to fill with all kinds of music orientated stuff, we decided it was best to just walk all over the town to get a good feel of the place and find the best music to listen to. We walked down Frenchman street, a place which would come alive at night with all the jazz, blues and swing bands that play. There was a cute little market selling all kinds of stuff including snow cones and gumbo shrimp! We walked around Jackson square, the heart of the French quarter which had a beautiful little cathedral and a couple cool museums. There were bands playing out in the square, even young boys who had so much talent, it was great to watch, especially those with a tuba wrapped around them. We eventually checked out a couple of museums on the last day. One centred around hurricane Katrina which destroyed New Orleans – houses were completely submerged in water, with only roofs popping out, some even floating. Winds swept across the state and even took the roof off of the superdome which was meant to be a base for people who couldn’t evacuate the town from lack of cars. It wasn’t well managed by the country and about 25,000 people struggled to cope with bad conditions in the superdome, with the stench of faeces being overwhelming as people started to relieve themselves in the main arena due to useless and overflowing facilities.

The town had these beautiful little houses, painted all different colours, each one different from the next. It was our favourite place so far in the US and just had so much character.


NOLA

We checked out a few bands in the evenings, bouncing from one place to the other. One swing band even had a tap dancer with them which gave it a whole other dimension – it was just great entertainment.

Although we felt pretty safe, we were told there was a possibility you could get mugged, so we seemed to look over our shoulders each night we walked home. We left without a thing being taken, continuing our good streak, but unfortunately Boz’s housemate couldn’t say the same…having had his phone and wallet taken on the first night we were there.

Boz kindly took us on a pedicab ride of New Orleans, spilling some interesting stories of the town. It was a lovely stay, albeit the hottest we’ve had since we were in Sudan!

We left by megabus in the evening, heading to Atlanta overnight. Thank god we reserved seats on the bus…the queue was the length of the street when we arrived!




Bands in the street

 

Atlanta

Atlanta was our stop that morning, but again, this was just a day visit before we headed onto Nashville. We had about 6 hours to take a good look around the town, but decided to fuel up first at this tiny little diner with only 5 seats…the cheesiest omelette ever, tasty hash browns with a side of the tiniest woman ever with the LOUDEST and SQUEAKIEST voice I’ve ever heard! She was on a breakfast run for her office and was all smiles, and thought we were Australian (seems to happen quite a lot over here)!


An inspiring woman

We strolled through the millennium park, past the Coca Cola factory, the aquarium and the CNN studios. It was so quiet, even the tourist attractions weren’t open yet.

We decided to walk towards the corner of the city where the history of Martin Luther King was told. He was born and raised in Atlanta, and this section of the city was dedicated to him – his old home, his church, his grave alongside his wife’s , and a museum telling the story of a man who had a dream.

It was incredible to see the house where he was born and raised – just your average house, but a house that held a family that discussed their rights and cast issues at the dinner table every night.

It was no wonder he turned out to be the man he was with such a strong, opinionated family that weren’t scared to stand up for what they believed in.

His speeches were so awe inspiring, and watching videos of him addressing audiences just captivates you. Getting the rights that they whole heartedly deserved was difficult, especially when trying to do so in nonviolent ways. They got beaten by not only white people, but by coloured people who were annoyed and angry with their approach.




Martin Luther King Jr's house

He was a man of such bravery, and when he got shot and killed before a march he was supposed to attend, his wife and kids stepped in to do the march…a message of continuing fight for their rights. It was a massive loss to people all over the world, but his legacy lived on through his wife, Coretta, and she attended meetings and speeches for the rest of her life. She became good friends with Rosa Parks, the lady who refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white person. People claimed in the newspapers that she didn’t get up because she was tired, but she made her reasons very clear when she said, ‘the only tired I am is tired of giving in!’

We looked around the museum, the site where they were buried and the church where he used to attend as a boy growing up, and a pastor when he was grown. His funeral service was held at this church, and unfortunately some years later, his mother was shot there.

It was a sad history, but a moving one too. And although I’ve heard the story before, I don’t think I ever heard so much about his wife, who to me was equally brave, strong willed and politically minded. Coretta Scott King was the person who stood out in my mind when we left Atlanta…what an amazing woman to still carry on, having lost her husband, and fearless enough to step out the front door everyday putting herself in harm’s way to get what she deserved, what her family deserved and what they all deserved.

‘Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation’ – Coretta Scott King

Nashville

We arrived in Nashville at around 9 at night, and slowly but surely made it to the bus station to get an onward bus to our next host’s house – Wesley.

We eventually got there and were greeted by him and his gorgeous puppy Murphy (a rather energetic corgi). He had a lovely home and we felt very welcome.

After a good night’s sleep, we woke up late to explore Nashville…however that was online at 5pm. We had spent the whole day planning our next move after the States…again, the inevitable question – cuba, Colombia, Hawaii, Jamaica? What was on the cards?

Well after a lot of research, we decided on making the journey to Cuba. Flights booked, journeys kind of mentally mapped, we were excited for a bit of sun, sand and sea! Unfortunately there are no flights direct from the States due to the embargo (lifting shortly), so we have to make a side step into Cancun, Mexico for that! Done it before, but it will be nice for Luke to experience too.

Then we booked a flight from Mexico to Colombia for after that…which leaves from good old Merida, a town I was in a little over 5 years ago volunteering at. Unfortunately we’ll only be there one night, but I’m just picturing that corona in the little square I remember so well.

We did have a walk around Nashville that evening, going down Printer’s alley to see some bars that some famous bands had played at, strolling down the riverbank and along Broadway Street where it was jam packed with bars blasting out all kinds of music with bands from rock to hillbilly playing.

We stopped at one bar for a couple of beers listening to some folk music before we headed back to Wesley’s.




Salt water taffy galore!

The next day we got up reasonably early but couldn’t bring ourselves to leave Murphy until the afternoon. We went for a tour of the State Capitol which lead us into the different court rooms, libraries and even governor’s office. Afterwards we headed to the State museum which gave an overall history of slavery in Tennessee, the army, police and the culture in the State.

We next visited the Johnny Cash museum, which was more of a shop than anything else. We sat there for a bit drinking coffee (yes, I now drink coffee…but I think I’ll stick to decaf)!

We walked all the way to Five Points, a district which was full of cute shops and nice bars. We met Wesley there for a few drinks and even had a delicious vegan pizza – with actual vegan cheese! Luke didn’t even get to say his usual ‘hold the cheese’ line, just the ‘hold the meat’ one this time.

After a great night, we headed back and shared our quirky tv shows…top of the agenda being the inbetweeners.

The next morning we all headed out for a walk, including Murphy to a forest nearby. It was a really nice hike, apart from the hot weather, which everyone apart from Murphy was not loving.

We stopped off at a sandwich place and picked up yet another delicious vegan delight before Wesley kindly dropped us off at the bus stop.

The bus didn’t seem that packed this time, and we spread out for our journey into Chicago.

Chicago

Probably not our best timing for bus journeys welve booked…we were due into Chicago just gone midnight, when the trains were apparently not running. I asked the megabus driver along how much a taxi would cost to the street we were staying on…$40 (if we weren’t being ripped off) – that was more than our bus tickets to Chicago combined! The driver mentioned that it was the area he lived in, and he ever so kindly agreed to drop us off.

After dropping everyone off in town, he took us to the bus depot and led us to his tin truck car. He said the South part was dodgy and he wouldn’t dare leave his nice car there for even one dsy, let alone 3 whilst he’s on the road!

We got dropped off around 2am to meet our next host Filip, who we had met in LA (also staying with David whilst we were there).

After a good night’s rest, we headed into the city to explore. We first went to the Willis tower, but the queues to get to the top were pretty long so we decided to skip that. We went on a self-guided walk which took us past interesting monuments, the old statues outside the Trader’s centre, cool old buildings, gigantic glass skyscrapers and a Picasso sculpture too.

We found this restaurant called Harry Carry’s which was owned by a guy who did some sports commentating and became famous for it. There were pictures all over the walls of him posing with famous people, and when he passed away not long ago, people now pose with the bust that stands in the hallway.




Al Capone docs and escape tunnel...

But the thing that dragged us to this place was Al Capone! He used to use the building long ago to store some old newspaper clippings, photos, his criminal charge tickets and other artefacts in this huge iron cast vault in the basement.

There was even a tunnel that went on for a mile that was used to escape the police which Frank Nitti and Big Al used to use.

On our walk back home from the station, we bumped into an old lady trying to do some gardening in her front lawn. Her name was Nancy, she was 79 and had lived her whole life in this house. Unfortunately she was never married so lived alone. She was asking if the outlines she had made were symmetrical before she dug 3 big holes to put some boundaries in for her plants. There was absolutely no way she would have managed that without breaking her back. So Luke kindly offered to help her, and so we did, with only a fork to break the dirt up. We ended up using stone to carve outlines for her before filling them in with the boundaries she had. I was even exhausted when we finished so I don’t know how she would have done it. We offered to help her plant the stuff, but she was keen to do that herself. We walked past a couple days later, and yes, she had managed to get it done.


Chicago river view

The next day we just spent it having a lazy one organising more stuff – booking more flights like our ones from Colombia to Ecuador and onto the Galapagos islands. We even managed to book our flight back home from Rio in December for the grand total of…£130!! Ok, I lie, it was £131.86!!

We took a stroll that evening around the area we were staying at and came across a lovely park and cute little houses. We had lunch at a place which did kebabs and falafel. Unfortunately the restaurant was empty, despite the lovely Iraqi brothers who owned it. It was a bit lifeless – more like a staff canteen than anything, and we felt sorry for them having noncustomers, not surprised when they said they never get busy. But it was interesting to hear that because they were Christian, they would have been denied a visa to get to Greece back in Iran, so had to fly to London to go to the Greek embassy there before gaining entry. Tricky politics! It was also unfortunate to hear that the place they came from in Iraq was being destroyed and historic sites being knocked down without any thought.

It was a lovely little neighbourhood and felt pretty safe. As you took the train into town, beautiful storey buildings came into view with their rooftops and balconies full of BBQs and interesting metal framed fire escapes.

We went back into the downtown area the next day and went to Ohio beach – a little patch of sand by the lake where everyone was soaking up the rays. It was weird to see skyscrapers in the background of this little beach, but pretty cool.

We walked along Navy pier where margaritas were being enjoyed, Ferris wheels were going and kids were screaming on the rides.




The Bean

After a lake front walk, we went to Millennium park to see the water fountains that projected local resident’s faces onto them, the famous ‘Bean,’ and to top our day off, a free showing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the park on the big screen. The place was packed with picnics on the lawn and the seating at the front piling up. Luckily it was the old film (don’t care much for the new one), and I really enjoyed it – catching all the jokes you wouldn’t understand as a child.

We set off the next day to Canada, jumping on a greyhound bus this time. The driver didn’t seem to be too happy, screaming at someone for daring to ask the arrival time at one of the destinations, responding with ‘why are you asking me such ignorant questions, you should have found this out yourself…I’m no informant, I’m just your driver.’ Someone woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning!

Still on the bus, we were about to pull into Detroit just before the border. We stopped and the bus driver started shouting ‘Hunter Street, Detroit.’ Everyone started shuffling thinking we had arrived to change buses, but no, it seems we were parked up between the highway and an exit. He was lost, and asking for directions!!! Stupid, ignorant question perhaps? An old lady had to guide him to turn around and make his way to downtown. Apparently this wasn’t the first time this had happened either as he said, ‘I’ve missed this exit before.’ Well maybe he shouldn’t have been so interested in his chicken wings before he boarded the bus, and been more interested in a map!

Goodbye US…see you in a week’s time! 



Lake view in Chicago