America 2017 log
Date and time: Tuesday 5th September 2017, 05:15 IST (05:15 BST)
Location: Dublin Airport, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
I have an hour or so to kill at Dublin airport, given the flight from New York made very good time crossing the Atlantic due to some tail winds, only taking 5 1/2 hours. Although it's now just after 5 in the morning here, I still feel like it's nearly midnight, and I suspect once I'm on the bus back to Bath and it starts getting light the jetlag will really start to hit home. My final day in New York was pretty much as I expected on Sunday night - I managed to get up early and beat the crowds into the Empire State Building, arriving just after 8am. The weather in New York had finally cleared up after all the cloud and rain that had been chasing me, and it was a lovely morning with cloudless skies. When I got to the top, the sun was still rising in the north east, meaning the buildings and skyline to the south were reflecting back the morning sunlight which made for a spectacular view. Over in the east, there was still some haze where the sun was coming up, but as (in my opinion) the best views are to the south, I think I timed my visit perfectly. After an hour or so admiring the views from various floors and some time wandering around the gift shop, I headed back to my hotel to check out and head on to JFK airport. From there, it's just been a case of travelling and waiting, which brings me to where I am this morning. I'm glad I have the rest of today off to recover from the journey, but I admit I'm not looking forward to trying to get to sleep later today nor getting up for work on Wednesday morning...
Location: Dublin Airport, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
I have an hour or so to kill at Dublin airport, given the flight from New York made very good time crossing the Atlantic due to some tail winds, only taking 5 1/2 hours. Although it's now just after 5 in the morning here, I still feel like it's nearly midnight, and I suspect once I'm on the bus back to Bath and it starts getting light the jetlag will really start to hit home. My final day in New York was pretty much as I expected on Sunday night - I managed to get up early and beat the crowds into the Empire State Building, arriving just after 8am. The weather in New York had finally cleared up after all the cloud and rain that had been chasing me, and it was a lovely morning with cloudless skies. When I got to the top, the sun was still rising in the north east, meaning the buildings and skyline to the south were reflecting back the morning sunlight which made for a spectacular view. Over in the east, there was still some haze where the sun was coming up, but as (in my opinion) the best views are to the south, I think I timed my visit perfectly. After an hour or so admiring the views from various floors and some time wandering around the gift shop, I headed back to my hotel to check out and head on to JFK airport. From there, it's just been a case of travelling and waiting, which brings me to where I am this morning. I'm glad I have the rest of today off to recover from the journey, but I admit I'm not looking forward to trying to get to sleep later today nor getting up for work on Wednesday morning...
Date and time: Sunday 3rd September 2017, 23:19 EDT (04:19 BST)
Location: New York, New York, United States
Today - my final full day in America - I've spent checking off a few last sights in upper New York that I didn't see on my first visit here two weeks ago. In addition, this morning, I also grabbed my fourth and final North American tower - Trinity Wall Street. The ringers there were very welcoming and like the Old Post Office in Washington, the bells were lovely and made a really nice sound. I joined the ringers for brunch in between their two bits of service ringing (where one of them insisted on paying for my food!) and staying into the afternoon to help the band out ringing a few tricky methods. From there, I took the subway back towards the north, and crossed a few final sights from my list - the United Nations building, Grand Central railway station (which was just as magnificent as parts of Washington DC and Philadelphia stations), Times Square (absolutely packed with people and shops - all the huge digital screens were rather captivating) and Central Park. The weather today started off in much the same way as yesterday - more rain - but since I spent most of this morning inside a bell tower, this didn't matter too much. Further, it cleared into the afternoon and sunny skies are forecast for tomorrow. Knowing this, I've deliberately left going up the Empire State Building for tomorrow morning (I'm planning to get up early to beat the crowds), which I suspect may be one of the few things open tomorrow (as it'll be a US bank holiday). From there it'll be onwards to JFK airport to catch my flights back to Ireland and the UK - although I'll be sad to leave the US, I'm rather looking forward to getting home again...
Location: New York, New York, United States
Today - my final full day in America - I've spent checking off a few last sights in upper New York that I didn't see on my first visit here two weeks ago. In addition, this morning, I also grabbed my fourth and final North American tower - Trinity Wall Street. The ringers there were very welcoming and like the Old Post Office in Washington, the bells were lovely and made a really nice sound. I joined the ringers for brunch in between their two bits of service ringing (where one of them insisted on paying for my food!) and staying into the afternoon to help the band out ringing a few tricky methods. From there, I took the subway back towards the north, and crossed a few final sights from my list - the United Nations building, Grand Central railway station (which was just as magnificent as parts of Washington DC and Philadelphia stations), Times Square (absolutely packed with people and shops - all the huge digital screens were rather captivating) and Central Park. The weather today started off in much the same way as yesterday - more rain - but since I spent most of this morning inside a bell tower, this didn't matter too much. Further, it cleared into the afternoon and sunny skies are forecast for tomorrow. Knowing this, I've deliberately left going up the Empire State Building for tomorrow morning (I'm planning to get up early to beat the crowds), which I suspect may be one of the few things open tomorrow (as it'll be a US bank holiday). From there it'll be onwards to JFK airport to catch my flights back to Ireland and the UK - although I'll be sad to leave the US, I'm rather looking forward to getting home again...
Date and time: Saturday 2nd September 2017, 23:06 EDT (04:06 BST)
Location: New York, New York, United States
So, after almost exactly two weeks, I find myself back in New York - although this time I'm staying towards the middle of Manhattan as opposed to downtown. Today has been about Philadelphia in Pennsylvania though - where I've spent the day while travelling from Washington DC back up to New York. Besides the day of the eclipse, this was the one day in my itinerary where I'd have wished for dry weather (due to having no hotel/base to go back to) - and it's done nothing but rain pretty much all day! Putting my frustration at the weather aside (I'm still drying out), I thought Philadelphia was worth a visit, though I'm glad I didn't give it more than a day. The city is the home of the US constitution and the early meeting place of the US government following the declaration of independence, and the city's tourist trade relies on this fact. On arrival at the main visitor centre I discovered they'd run out of tickets for the day for the top attraction (going inside Independence Hall, where the US constitution was drafted and signed), but there were still other things to see. Unlike most of the other cities I've visited in North America, Philadelphia still has some older style (pre-1776) buildings still standing, which give small pockets of the city a more European feel. The best of the museums I visited were the one devoted to Benjamin Franklin (one of the authors of the constitution), and the Constitution museum itself. The latter I found particularly interesting as it had a walkthrough of how the constitution has impacted US history from 1776 to the present day, with lots of attention paid to the separation of powers and checks and balances between the branches of government here - something I initially learned about when studying GCSE history. As a Brit and a European though, I couldn't help but think the museum gave a rose-tinted view of the document, almost claiming it as the sole inspiration for others around the world, and glossing over some of the contradictions when it was first written (e.g. slaves and women having no say in a government meant for the people). There is a world outside the borders of this country! Anyway, another soaking by the rain and a train ride has brought me to my final stop in New York. I'm hoping to grab a final bellringing tower tomorrow morning (Trinity Wall Street), before some final bits of sightseeing and flights back to the UK on Monday evening...
Location: New York, New York, United States
So, after almost exactly two weeks, I find myself back in New York - although this time I'm staying towards the middle of Manhattan as opposed to downtown. Today has been about Philadelphia in Pennsylvania though - where I've spent the day while travelling from Washington DC back up to New York. Besides the day of the eclipse, this was the one day in my itinerary where I'd have wished for dry weather (due to having no hotel/base to go back to) - and it's done nothing but rain pretty much all day! Putting my frustration at the weather aside (I'm still drying out), I thought Philadelphia was worth a visit, though I'm glad I didn't give it more than a day. The city is the home of the US constitution and the early meeting place of the US government following the declaration of independence, and the city's tourist trade relies on this fact. On arrival at the main visitor centre I discovered they'd run out of tickets for the day for the top attraction (going inside Independence Hall, where the US constitution was drafted and signed), but there were still other things to see. Unlike most of the other cities I've visited in North America, Philadelphia still has some older style (pre-1776) buildings still standing, which give small pockets of the city a more European feel. The best of the museums I visited were the one devoted to Benjamin Franklin (one of the authors of the constitution), and the Constitution museum itself. The latter I found particularly interesting as it had a walkthrough of how the constitution has impacted US history from 1776 to the present day, with lots of attention paid to the separation of powers and checks and balances between the branches of government here - something I initially learned about when studying GCSE history. As a Brit and a European though, I couldn't help but think the museum gave a rose-tinted view of the document, almost claiming it as the sole inspiration for others around the world, and glossing over some of the contradictions when it was first written (e.g. slaves and women having no say in a government meant for the people). There is a world outside the borders of this country! Anyway, another soaking by the rain and a train ride has brought me to my final stop in New York. I'm hoping to grab a final bellringing tower tomorrow morning (Trinity Wall Street), before some final bits of sightseeing and flights back to the UK on Monday evening...
Date and time: Friday 1st September 2017, 21:13 EDT (02:13 BST)
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
After a late start this morning, I put into action my plan to head out into neighbouring Virginia to see the annex to Washington's Air and Space museum. Two things I hadn't accounted for in doing this - first, the weather seems to have turned again and it's been cloudy and overcast all day (and unusually cool - again back to around 18 degrees - to the extent I felt a little foolish going out in shorts), and second, quite how long it would take to get there. The journey involved a trip to the end of one of the subway lines (which, now I've looked on a map, goes much further out than I thought), plus an hour long bus ride. Total distance travelled - about 20 miles (public transport really isn't an American strong point). But when I got there, it immediately became apparent it was worth it: the "Annex" - essentially a spare hangar near Washington Dulles airport - basically holds all the stuff they can't fit in the museum in central DC. And some of it was huge! Highlights included Blackbird (a reconnaissance plane which still holds the air speed record), Enola Gay (B29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan), an Air France Concorde (sadly you couldn't go inside), the capsule used by Felix Baumgartner when he made his supersonic jump from the edge of space in 2012, and the Discovery Space Shuttle. They also had a restoration workshop on site where they were restoring the Apollo 11 command module, among other things. Finally, as the hangar was once part of Dulles Airport, you could also go up the old control tower which gave a spectacular view of the planes coming in to land at the airport. As the journey back took another couple of hours, I haven't had time to fit in anything else today, but I'm satisfied I've seen everything I want to in DC. Tomorrow I'll be taking the train up to Philadelphia for the day (home of the Liberty Bell and where the US constitution was signed); it seems strange to think that this time tomorrow I'll be back in New York - and not too long until I'm heading back across the Atlantic...
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
After a late start this morning, I put into action my plan to head out into neighbouring Virginia to see the annex to Washington's Air and Space museum. Two things I hadn't accounted for in doing this - first, the weather seems to have turned again and it's been cloudy and overcast all day (and unusually cool - again back to around 18 degrees - to the extent I felt a little foolish going out in shorts), and second, quite how long it would take to get there. The journey involved a trip to the end of one of the subway lines (which, now I've looked on a map, goes much further out than I thought), plus an hour long bus ride. Total distance travelled - about 20 miles (public transport really isn't an American strong point). But when I got there, it immediately became apparent it was worth it: the "Annex" - essentially a spare hangar near Washington Dulles airport - basically holds all the stuff they can't fit in the museum in central DC. And some of it was huge! Highlights included Blackbird (a reconnaissance plane which still holds the air speed record), Enola Gay (B29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan), an Air France Concorde (sadly you couldn't go inside), the capsule used by Felix Baumgartner when he made his supersonic jump from the edge of space in 2012, and the Discovery Space Shuttle. They also had a restoration workshop on site where they were restoring the Apollo 11 command module, among other things. Finally, as the hangar was once part of Dulles Airport, you could also go up the old control tower which gave a spectacular view of the planes coming in to land at the airport. As the journey back took another couple of hours, I haven't had time to fit in anything else today, but I'm satisfied I've seen everything I want to in DC. Tomorrow I'll be taking the train up to Philadelphia for the day (home of the Liberty Bell and where the US constitution was signed); it seems strange to think that this time tomorrow I'll be back in New York - and not too long until I'm heading back across the Atlantic...
Date and time: Thursday 31st August 2017, 23:47 EDT (04:47 BST)
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Washington appears to be returning to normal weather conditions - today has definitely been hotter than yesterday, although the ringers I spoke to tonight still regarded today as quite cool. I dread to think what it's normally like! I didn't particularly notice this this morning since I spent it inside at the International Spy Museum, which was a very entertaining few hours. The museum contained all sorts of artefacts from days gone by, many of which had the feel of belonging in Bond films or similar - cameras in coat buttons, weapons concealed in pens, codebooks hidden in the most ingenious of places. There were lots of interactive exhibits there too, challenging you to spot suspicious activities in photographs, notice key things in satellite images and try to remember and successfully recall cover stories of particular spies. Photographs weren't allowed inside (presumably for obvious reasons!) though I also couldn't help but note that most of the artefacts related to the early days of the Cold War - I'm guessing things have become much more sophisticated since in ways which can't be revealed. This afternoon I headed across the Potomac River to visit one area I missed yesterday - Arlington Cemetery - a military cemetery which also contains the graves of a few presidents, most notably JFK. I also saw the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier and tried to see the Iwo Jima memorial (modelled on the iconic photograph of six US marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima in the Pacific in WWII) - but unfortunately found this covered in scaffolding as it's currently under restoration. A quick stop back at my guesthouse for some food before heading out this evening for another ring at the Old Post Office tower - this tower sits in what's known as the "Federal Triangle" on Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol and the White House. Perhaps more notably - the tower sits atop the current Commander-in-Chief's DC hotel! There was some discussion among the Washington ringers about this and the emoulements clause of the constitution while we waited for security to open up - one of the ringers is married to a lawyer. The bells themselves were lovely - fantastic sound, and I also got to see the view from the top of the tower, which makes up for the Washington monument being closed yesterday. After ringing, I had another wander around the Mall, capturing a few of its sights at night before heading back to my guesthouse. Tomorrow I'm still planning on heading out into Virginia to see the extension of the National Air and Space museum, before Saturday when I'll be visiting Philadelphia for the day before returning back to New York...
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Washington appears to be returning to normal weather conditions - today has definitely been hotter than yesterday, although the ringers I spoke to tonight still regarded today as quite cool. I dread to think what it's normally like! I didn't particularly notice this this morning since I spent it inside at the International Spy Museum, which was a very entertaining few hours. The museum contained all sorts of artefacts from days gone by, many of which had the feel of belonging in Bond films or similar - cameras in coat buttons, weapons concealed in pens, codebooks hidden in the most ingenious of places. There were lots of interactive exhibits there too, challenging you to spot suspicious activities in photographs, notice key things in satellite images and try to remember and successfully recall cover stories of particular spies. Photographs weren't allowed inside (presumably for obvious reasons!) though I also couldn't help but note that most of the artefacts related to the early days of the Cold War - I'm guessing things have become much more sophisticated since in ways which can't be revealed. This afternoon I headed across the Potomac River to visit one area I missed yesterday - Arlington Cemetery - a military cemetery which also contains the graves of a few presidents, most notably JFK. I also saw the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier and tried to see the Iwo Jima memorial (modelled on the iconic photograph of six US marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima in the Pacific in WWII) - but unfortunately found this covered in scaffolding as it's currently under restoration. A quick stop back at my guesthouse for some food before heading out this evening for another ring at the Old Post Office tower - this tower sits in what's known as the "Federal Triangle" on Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol and the White House. Perhaps more notably - the tower sits atop the current Commander-in-Chief's DC hotel! There was some discussion among the Washington ringers about this and the emoulements clause of the constitution while we waited for security to open up - one of the ringers is married to a lawyer. The bells themselves were lovely - fantastic sound, and I also got to see the view from the top of the tower, which makes up for the Washington monument being closed yesterday. After ringing, I had another wander around the Mall, capturing a few of its sights at night before heading back to my guesthouse. Tomorrow I'm still planning on heading out into Virginia to see the extension of the National Air and Space museum, before Saturday when I'll be visiting Philadelphia for the day before returning back to New York...
Date and time: Wednesday 30th August 2017, 20:01 EDT (01:01 BST)
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
I've been saying for a while that Washington was the of the part of my trip I was looking forward to the most, and today that anticipation proved to be well justified. Fortunately yesterday's weather has cleared off - today it has been much brighter though also still pleasantly cool - perfect given I spent most of today wandering around and admiring all the monuments on the National Mall. For those that don't know, the Mall is the area in the centre of Washington stretching around 2.5 miles from the Capitol (US parliament building) in the east to the Lincoln memorial in the west, and also around a mile from the White House in the north to the Jefferson memorial in the south. The Washington monument - a 170m stone obelisk - sits in the centre. Unfortunately, as I discovered when passing it, the lifts are out of action for two years for upgrades so I wasn't able to go and see the view from the top. There was other excitement as I discovered this, since three rather official looking helicopters flew overhead in the direction of the White House - one of which looked very like the one often seen in the news and proceeded to land. The view towards the White House is well obscured by trees, so unfortunately I've no idea if anyone important was on board. I continued to explore the Mall, seeing numerous monuments in addition to those already mentioned, among them memorials to WWII, Martin Luther King, the Korean War, President Roosevelt, plus the Supreme Court building, the reflecting pool (most famous for Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech), the Smithsonian Castle, and the fronts of the various museums on the north and side sides of the Mall. After soaking up the history of the Mall itself, I went and had a look around what I'm told is the most popular museum there - the National Air and Space museum - which was full to bursting with exhibits and artefacts from the early days of aviation and the American space program - including a test version of the Apollo lunar lander, the Spirit of St Louis (first aircraft to cross the Atlantic) and the Wright brothers' plane. I spent a good few hours there before heading back to my guesthouse, feeling somewhat exhausted given I've been on my feet pretty much non-stop all day! I'm currently trying to decide what other museums to visit tomorrow, and on Friday I'm quite tempted to visit the Air and Space museum's annex out near Dulles airport in Virginia...
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
I've been saying for a while that Washington was the of the part of my trip I was looking forward to the most, and today that anticipation proved to be well justified. Fortunately yesterday's weather has cleared off - today it has been much brighter though also still pleasantly cool - perfect given I spent most of today wandering around and admiring all the monuments on the National Mall. For those that don't know, the Mall is the area in the centre of Washington stretching around 2.5 miles from the Capitol (US parliament building) in the east to the Lincoln memorial in the west, and also around a mile from the White House in the north to the Jefferson memorial in the south. The Washington monument - a 170m stone obelisk - sits in the centre. Unfortunately, as I discovered when passing it, the lifts are out of action for two years for upgrades so I wasn't able to go and see the view from the top. There was other excitement as I discovered this, since three rather official looking helicopters flew overhead in the direction of the White House - one of which looked very like the one often seen in the news and proceeded to land. The view towards the White House is well obscured by trees, so unfortunately I've no idea if anyone important was on board. I continued to explore the Mall, seeing numerous monuments in addition to those already mentioned, among them memorials to WWII, Martin Luther King, the Korean War, President Roosevelt, plus the Supreme Court building, the reflecting pool (most famous for Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech), the Smithsonian Castle, and the fronts of the various museums on the north and side sides of the Mall. After soaking up the history of the Mall itself, I went and had a look around what I'm told is the most popular museum there - the National Air and Space museum - which was full to bursting with exhibits and artefacts from the early days of aviation and the American space program - including a test version of the Apollo lunar lander, the Spirit of St Louis (first aircraft to cross the Atlantic) and the Wright brothers' plane. I spent a good few hours there before heading back to my guesthouse, feeling somewhat exhausted given I've been on my feet pretty much non-stop all day! I'm currently trying to decide what other museums to visit tomorrow, and on Friday I'm quite tempted to visit the Air and Space museum's annex out near Dulles airport in Virginia...
Date and time: Tuesday 29th August 2017, 22:35 EDT (03:35 BST)
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
When I mentioned I was going to visit Washington DC to a one-time resident, I was warned the place was like a swamp in August - extremely hot and humid. The reality when I arrived? Around 18 degrees, completely overcast, and nothing but rain all day - reminds me very much of the UK. Even more depressing is that it was completely clear when I left Toronto this morning! The journey here was been fairly uneventful - though I'm rather glad that's the last flight until my trip back to England in just under a week given all the security checks I've been through. As in Dublin, they have US pre-clearance facilities in Toronto, which saved time on landing (and again, they were less questioning and more polite than their Canadian counterparts!) The approach into Reagan Airport was memorable though - as the airport sits just to the south of the White House and the National Mall, aircraft can't approach from the north and instead come in via Potomac River, meaning you're over water until the very last minute when the runway suddenly appears. A subway ride and a soaking 15 minute walk led me to my guesthouse in the DC suburbs - I've got a nice big room, and am looking forward to an inclusive breakfast tomorrow. Due to the unrelenting rain, I didn't go out to explore central DC today (instead having a nap after my early start and also uploading some more pictures - see the above link); fortunately the weather is forecast to improve after tomorrow lunchtime (and I'm here until Saturday morning). Come this evening, the rain did begin to subside somewhat, which was nice as I headed out towards Washington Cathedral for some ringing. Finding my way up to the ringing chamber wasn't easy (there were two separate lifts), but it was well worth it - the ringers were very welcoming and the views from the top were stunning, even if they were somewhat hampered by low cloud. As it's the last Tuesday of the month, there was an event on in the Cathedral so we had to ring the bells using the simulator rather than open, but this did also mean everyone went out for pizza and drinks afterwards, which was very enjoyable. I'm now back at my guesthouse after a walk back through the DC suburbs - I'm rather liking what I've seen of the city so far, as it has a more "neighbourhood" like feel - no buildings beyond a few stories high, wide open roads, and lots of trees and greenery. I haven't yet made any particular plans for the next few days (so will be reading my guidebook in bed tonight), but I'm pretty certain tomorrow will involve a trip down to the areas around the National Mall - one of the things I've most been looking forward to seeing since the eclipse...
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
When I mentioned I was going to visit Washington DC to a one-time resident, I was warned the place was like a swamp in August - extremely hot and humid. The reality when I arrived? Around 18 degrees, completely overcast, and nothing but rain all day - reminds me very much of the UK. Even more depressing is that it was completely clear when I left Toronto this morning! The journey here was been fairly uneventful - though I'm rather glad that's the last flight until my trip back to England in just under a week given all the security checks I've been through. As in Dublin, they have US pre-clearance facilities in Toronto, which saved time on landing (and again, they were less questioning and more polite than their Canadian counterparts!) The approach into Reagan Airport was memorable though - as the airport sits just to the south of the White House and the National Mall, aircraft can't approach from the north and instead come in via Potomac River, meaning you're over water until the very last minute when the runway suddenly appears. A subway ride and a soaking 15 minute walk led me to my guesthouse in the DC suburbs - I've got a nice big room, and am looking forward to an inclusive breakfast tomorrow. Due to the unrelenting rain, I didn't go out to explore central DC today (instead having a nap after my early start and also uploading some more pictures - see the above link); fortunately the weather is forecast to improve after tomorrow lunchtime (and I'm here until Saturday morning). Come this evening, the rain did begin to subside somewhat, which was nice as I headed out towards Washington Cathedral for some ringing. Finding my way up to the ringing chamber wasn't easy (there were two separate lifts), but it was well worth it - the ringers were very welcoming and the views from the top were stunning, even if they were somewhat hampered by low cloud. As it's the last Tuesday of the month, there was an event on in the Cathedral so we had to ring the bells using the simulator rather than open, but this did also mean everyone went out for pizza and drinks afterwards, which was very enjoyable. I'm now back at my guesthouse after a walk back through the DC suburbs - I'm rather liking what I've seen of the city so far, as it has a more "neighbourhood" like feel - no buildings beyond a few stories high, wide open roads, and lots of trees and greenery. I haven't yet made any particular plans for the next few days (so will be reading my guidebook in bed tonight), but I'm pretty certain tomorrow will involve a trip down to the areas around the National Mall - one of the things I've most been looking forward to seeing since the eclipse...
Date and time: Monday 28th August 2017, 21:54 EDT (02:54 BST)
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I've used my final full day in Canada to do a day trip from Toronto to Niagara Falls, since I didn't feel a visit to this part of Canada would be complete without going there. There's only one direct train a day between the two locations (as it goes on to/returns from New York once it crosses into the US), which meant an early start. The train was very comfortable - more legroom than I've ever seen anywhere else (and this coming from someone who has been all over Europe by rail) - though somewhat slow; there were lots of level crossings so we never really picked up that much speed. I arrived in Niagara Falls just after 10am, and from there it was a 30 minute walk to the falls. The walk took me right along the gorge that forms the US-Canadian border, past Rainbow Bridge which crosses the gorge, and to the waterfalls themselves. The buildings definitely started to get a bit tackier as I approached the main touristy area - casinos and the like rather than some very nice houses a bit closer to the railway station. The falls themselves were impressive - there are two falls; the American falls which lie entirely within US territory, and the horseshoe shaped falls which form the border between the two nations. On the Canadian side, they were selling tickets for a number of attractions, and although expensive, I reasoned I'm unlikely to be here again any time soon so bought the day pass. This got me into four attractions - first was an audio-visual attraction detailing the history of the falls (complete with water and all - fortunately they provide you with waterproof ponchos beforehand). The second was the "Journey Behind the Falls" - essentially some tunnels on the Canadian side which let you see the falls from behind (not actually all that impressive; there's so much water you can't see through it!) as well as see the waterfall up close from the front (more impressive, as it allowed you to see the rate the water flows over). Third attraction was probably the most fun; every 15 minutes, boats run from both the US and Canadian side and head into the 'U' of the horseshoe allowing you to see the falls up close from the centre (and, as expected you get rather wet from all the mist generated by the sheer force of the water going over the edge; again they provide waterproof ponchos beforehand). Finally, the fourth attraction was a little further downstream where the river is narrower and the gradient drops steeply, creating some impressive rapids, with differences of several metres between the high and low points (the water flows at something like 30mph). All in all, a worthwhile day trip. Unfortunately the train back to Toronto was a little late due to Canadian customs checks on those who had just crossed over from the US, which meant I missed my chance to go ringing again at St James in Toronto. However, I've got another tower lined up for tomorrow evening (Washington National Cathedral, no less), so let's hope I can make my 6am start for my flight tomorrow...
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I've used my final full day in Canada to do a day trip from Toronto to Niagara Falls, since I didn't feel a visit to this part of Canada would be complete without going there. There's only one direct train a day between the two locations (as it goes on to/returns from New York once it crosses into the US), which meant an early start. The train was very comfortable - more legroom than I've ever seen anywhere else (and this coming from someone who has been all over Europe by rail) - though somewhat slow; there were lots of level crossings so we never really picked up that much speed. I arrived in Niagara Falls just after 10am, and from there it was a 30 minute walk to the falls. The walk took me right along the gorge that forms the US-Canadian border, past Rainbow Bridge which crosses the gorge, and to the waterfalls themselves. The buildings definitely started to get a bit tackier as I approached the main touristy area - casinos and the like rather than some very nice houses a bit closer to the railway station. The falls themselves were impressive - there are two falls; the American falls which lie entirely within US territory, and the horseshoe shaped falls which form the border between the two nations. On the Canadian side, they were selling tickets for a number of attractions, and although expensive, I reasoned I'm unlikely to be here again any time soon so bought the day pass. This got me into four attractions - first was an audio-visual attraction detailing the history of the falls (complete with water and all - fortunately they provide you with waterproof ponchos beforehand). The second was the "Journey Behind the Falls" - essentially some tunnels on the Canadian side which let you see the falls from behind (not actually all that impressive; there's so much water you can't see through it!) as well as see the waterfall up close from the front (more impressive, as it allowed you to see the rate the water flows over). Third attraction was probably the most fun; every 15 minutes, boats run from both the US and Canadian side and head into the 'U' of the horseshoe allowing you to see the falls up close from the centre (and, as expected you get rather wet from all the mist generated by the sheer force of the water going over the edge; again they provide waterproof ponchos beforehand). Finally, the fourth attraction was a little further downstream where the river is narrower and the gradient drops steeply, creating some impressive rapids, with differences of several metres between the high and low points (the water flows at something like 30mph). All in all, a worthwhile day trip. Unfortunately the train back to Toronto was a little late due to Canadian customs checks on those who had just crossed over from the US, which meant I missed my chance to go ringing again at St James in Toronto. However, I've got another tower lined up for tomorrow evening (Washington National Cathedral, no less), so let's hope I can make my 6am start for my flight tomorrow...
Date and time: Sunday 27th August 2017, 19:52 EDT (00:52 BST)
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Much like my second day in Chicago, my second day in Toronto has been much more laid back than the first. As mentioned yesterday, this morning I got my first bellringing tower grab outside the British Isles, at St James' Cathedral in Toronto. Despite being thousands of miles away from home, it was very nice to do something so familiar - the welcome was as warm as at any tower in the UK (if not more so, since they were a little short this morning), and it still amazes me how consistent the ringing vocabulary and methods rung are despite the distance from the UK. They also invited me to come along to their practice tomorrow evening - assuming my train from Niagara Falls makes it back on time, I plan on going along for the last hour or so. After morning ringing, I headed to the edge of Lake Ontario to take a ferry over to the islands in Toronto harbour. There were some lovely views from the ferry of the Toronto skyline - despite the weather forecast, today has turned out to be another very nice day. Most of the Toronto Islands form a large park, with numerous paths, picnic tables and trees, a funfair (which I avoided due to the number of kids there) and a couple of beaches. I spent a good few hours on one of the beaches enjoying the sunshine (which felt surprisingly warm given the constant breeze) and also went for a paddle in Lake Ontario (which was much colder than Lake Michigan - despite wearing my swimming shorts, I wasn't tempted to go right in!) I had a wander around the rest of the park, admiring some of the many boats in the marinas before heading back to the mainland and back to my guesthouse, where I've cooked myself another filling meal. I have an early start tomorrow to catch the train down to Niagara Falls, and after getting a few recommendations from someone else staying in the guesthouse, I'm rather looking forward to seeing it for myself!
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Much like my second day in Chicago, my second day in Toronto has been much more laid back than the first. As mentioned yesterday, this morning I got my first bellringing tower grab outside the British Isles, at St James' Cathedral in Toronto. Despite being thousands of miles away from home, it was very nice to do something so familiar - the welcome was as warm as at any tower in the UK (if not more so, since they were a little short this morning), and it still amazes me how consistent the ringing vocabulary and methods rung are despite the distance from the UK. They also invited me to come along to their practice tomorrow evening - assuming my train from Niagara Falls makes it back on time, I plan on going along for the last hour or so. After morning ringing, I headed to the edge of Lake Ontario to take a ferry over to the islands in Toronto harbour. There were some lovely views from the ferry of the Toronto skyline - despite the weather forecast, today has turned out to be another very nice day. Most of the Toronto Islands form a large park, with numerous paths, picnic tables and trees, a funfair (which I avoided due to the number of kids there) and a couple of beaches. I spent a good few hours on one of the beaches enjoying the sunshine (which felt surprisingly warm given the constant breeze) and also went for a paddle in Lake Ontario (which was much colder than Lake Michigan - despite wearing my swimming shorts, I wasn't tempted to go right in!) I had a wander around the rest of the park, admiring some of the many boats in the marinas before heading back to the mainland and back to my guesthouse, where I've cooked myself another filling meal. I have an early start tomorrow to catch the train down to Niagara Falls, and after getting a few recommendations from someone else staying in the guesthouse, I'm rather looking forward to seeing it for myself!
Date and time: Saturday 26th August 2017, 20:28 EDT (01:28 BST)
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Today I've explored the centre of Toronto, and managed to cross off the three main things on my list to see. I began at St Lawrence Market - a bustling indoor market full of stores selling snacks, meat, fish, you name it, it was probably there. There were a large number of people wearing blue shirts with "Blue Jays" on - as I later found out, the Toronto Blue Jays were playing at home yesterday, so many of their fans were grabbing a bite to eat in advance of the match. I also picked up a few souvenirs - unsurprisingly there were a lot of stores selling maple syrup and all sorts of things that contain it! From there, I headed west to Fort York - Toronto was originally called "York" by the British settlers, hence the name of the fort. Although part of the fort now has a major highway running over it (you could never see that happening in the UK!) it was still very interesting to wander around and see how the fort was used in 1813 when the Americans overran it in the war or 1812 (for which the British subsequently burned down the White House in revenge). They had a number of guided tours which provided much more information that just exploring the place by yourself, and also demonstrations of cannon firing and the musketeers, both done by students wearing uniforms of the time, which were very good. From there, I decided to brave the crowds and head to the CN tower, since I don't feel I could come to Toronto and not go up it. My guidebook had warned of 90 minute waits (as did the person on the till when I bought my (somewhat overpriced) ticket), but it turned out to be a full 2 hours and 15 minutes - a long time to be stood up. The view from the top was spectacular, though (particularly given how fine a day it's been), with you being able to see far out across the Toronto suburbs to the north and over Lake Ontario to the south. I wasn't impressed that half the viewing deck was taken over by a restaurant, though, especially since there's a revolving restaurant on the level above which takes up that entire floor. Given the queues and the price they charge, I think they'd be better removing that first restaurant which would double the capacity of the observation deck, and consider some double decker lifts to get people up and down faster - just my two cents. From the CN tower, I've headed back to my guesthouse where I cooked myself some pasta - first proper meal in a week or so - and plan to get another early night in anticipation of an early start to go bellringing tomorrow morning - to grab my first tower outside the British Isles!
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Today I've explored the centre of Toronto, and managed to cross off the three main things on my list to see. I began at St Lawrence Market - a bustling indoor market full of stores selling snacks, meat, fish, you name it, it was probably there. There were a large number of people wearing blue shirts with "Blue Jays" on - as I later found out, the Toronto Blue Jays were playing at home yesterday, so many of their fans were grabbing a bite to eat in advance of the match. I also picked up a few souvenirs - unsurprisingly there were a lot of stores selling maple syrup and all sorts of things that contain it! From there, I headed west to Fort York - Toronto was originally called "York" by the British settlers, hence the name of the fort. Although part of the fort now has a major highway running over it (you could never see that happening in the UK!) it was still very interesting to wander around and see how the fort was used in 1813 when the Americans overran it in the war or 1812 (for which the British subsequently burned down the White House in revenge). They had a number of guided tours which provided much more information that just exploring the place by yourself, and also demonstrations of cannon firing and the musketeers, both done by students wearing uniforms of the time, which were very good. From there, I decided to brave the crowds and head to the CN tower, since I don't feel I could come to Toronto and not go up it. My guidebook had warned of 90 minute waits (as did the person on the till when I bought my (somewhat overpriced) ticket), but it turned out to be a full 2 hours and 15 minutes - a long time to be stood up. The view from the top was spectacular, though (particularly given how fine a day it's been), with you being able to see far out across the Toronto suburbs to the north and over Lake Ontario to the south. I wasn't impressed that half the viewing deck was taken over by a restaurant, though, especially since there's a revolving restaurant on the level above which takes up that entire floor. Given the queues and the price they charge, I think they'd be better removing that first restaurant which would double the capacity of the observation deck, and consider some double decker lifts to get people up and down faster - just my two cents. From the CN tower, I've headed back to my guesthouse where I cooked myself some pasta - first proper meal in a week or so - and plan to get another early night in anticipation of an early start to go bellringing tomorrow morning - to grab my first tower outside the British Isles!
Date and time: Friday 25th August 2017, 18:56 EDT (23:56 BST)
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I don't have a huge amount to write about today, since today has simply consisted of getting from Chicago to Toronto. A few things I have learned though - allow time for signal failures when taking the Chicago subway (apparently they don't just happen on UK trains...), allow plenty of time to get around O'Hare airport (which is quite simply huge), and if travelling alone into Canada on a British passport, be prepared for extensive questioning when you reach the border. I'll admit I'd expected such questioning when entering the US, but had imagined the Canadians might be a bit more friendly - not so: "Why have you come to Canada?", "How long will you be in Canada?", "Have you been to Canada before?", "Where have you travelled to Canada from?", "What is the address you'll be staying at in Canada?", "What do you do for a living?", "Why are you travelling alone?" At least the US were a bit more friendly in the way they asked their questions... Anyway, I've now made it to my guesthouse, where the welcome could not have contrasted more with that at immigration. The lady here went out of her way to show me everything in my bedroom, bathroom and the shared kitchen, and took a keen interest in my travels so far. The guesthouse is in suburban Toronto rather than near the centre, which makes a nice change from the hotels I've been staying in so far, and the kitchen should allow me to cook a few proper meals rather than me just relying on sandwiches and snacks as I have done since I arrived in the US. I'm not planning to venture downtown tonight as my lack of sleep is beginning to catch up with me, and I have two full days to enjoy Toronto (one of which will feature some bellringing!) before an excursion to Niagara Falls on Monday...
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I don't have a huge amount to write about today, since today has simply consisted of getting from Chicago to Toronto. A few things I have learned though - allow time for signal failures when taking the Chicago subway (apparently they don't just happen on UK trains...), allow plenty of time to get around O'Hare airport (which is quite simply huge), and if travelling alone into Canada on a British passport, be prepared for extensive questioning when you reach the border. I'll admit I'd expected such questioning when entering the US, but had imagined the Canadians might be a bit more friendly - not so: "Why have you come to Canada?", "How long will you be in Canada?", "Have you been to Canada before?", "Where have you travelled to Canada from?", "What is the address you'll be staying at in Canada?", "What do you do for a living?", "Why are you travelling alone?" At least the US were a bit more friendly in the way they asked their questions... Anyway, I've now made it to my guesthouse, where the welcome could not have contrasted more with that at immigration. The lady here went out of her way to show me everything in my bedroom, bathroom and the shared kitchen, and took a keen interest in my travels so far. The guesthouse is in suburban Toronto rather than near the centre, which makes a nice change from the hotels I've been staying in so far, and the kitchen should allow me to cook a few proper meals rather than me just relying on sandwiches and snacks as I have done since I arrived in the US. I'm not planning to venture downtown tonight as my lack of sleep is beginning to catch up with me, and I have two full days to enjoy Toronto (one of which will feature some bellringing!) before an excursion to Niagara Falls on Monday...
Date and time: Thursday 24th August 2017, 19:04 CDT (01:04 BST)
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
As hinted at yesterday, today I've taken a break from the sightseeing that I've been doing since I arrived in the US. I treated myself to a bit of a lie in this morning, finally leaving my hotel around 10am and heading out to hire a bike from a shop on the nearby Navy Pier. Chicago has an 18 mile trail known as the Lakefront, with the midpoint corresponding to the centre of Chicago and extending for around 9 miles both north and south, straddling the shore of Lake Michigan. I chose to head north first, which was was definitely the more difficult direction given the breeze blowing from the northeast, but the temperature here is very reasonable at the moment at around 23°C and there were clear skies this morning. The path runs through several parks on the lakefront, some with beaches, and when I got to the northern end of the trail I stopped off at the beach for a couple of hours, going for a paddle in Lake Michigan (which was surprisingly warm!) and enjoying the sunshine in a place that was almost deserted aside from the lifeguards. Around lunchtime, a few dark clouds gathered to the north and brought along a couple of torrential showers - but once these passed, I headed down to the southern end of the trail where - surprise, surprise, I found another lovely deserted sandy beach and had another paddle (though the waves from the lake were a bit higher here!) I then cycled back up to the centre of Chicago (going north again proving the more tiring direction due to the wind), racking up a total of 36 miles cycling - not bad for one day! I'm now feeling somewhat exhausted so plan on getting an early night; tomorrow, Toronto in Canada, the new first country to be added to my list since 2010!
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
As hinted at yesterday, today I've taken a break from the sightseeing that I've been doing since I arrived in the US. I treated myself to a bit of a lie in this morning, finally leaving my hotel around 10am and heading out to hire a bike from a shop on the nearby Navy Pier. Chicago has an 18 mile trail known as the Lakefront, with the midpoint corresponding to the centre of Chicago and extending for around 9 miles both north and south, straddling the shore of Lake Michigan. I chose to head north first, which was was definitely the more difficult direction given the breeze blowing from the northeast, but the temperature here is very reasonable at the moment at around 23°C and there were clear skies this morning. The path runs through several parks on the lakefront, some with beaches, and when I got to the northern end of the trail I stopped off at the beach for a couple of hours, going for a paddle in Lake Michigan (which was surprisingly warm!) and enjoying the sunshine in a place that was almost deserted aside from the lifeguards. Around lunchtime, a few dark clouds gathered to the north and brought along a couple of torrential showers - but once these passed, I headed down to the southern end of the trail where - surprise, surprise, I found another lovely deserted sandy beach and had another paddle (though the waves from the lake were a bit higher here!) I then cycled back up to the centre of Chicago (going north again proving the more tiring direction due to the wind), racking up a total of 36 miles cycling - not bad for one day! I'm now feeling somewhat exhausted so plan on getting an early night; tomorrow, Toronto in Canada, the new first country to be added to my list since 2010!
Date and time: Wednesday 23rd August 2017, 22:34 CDT (04:34 BST)
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Chicago has continued to impress today. I think today I've managed to tick of most of the landmarks of interest in my guidebook, which leaves tomorrow free for a cycle ride along the shores of Lake Michigan. I spent most of this morning at the Adler Planetarium, getting there via the parks by the lakeside, stopping briefly to see the "cloud gate" monument (a giant jelly bean shaped structure covered in reflective metal which makes for some interesting shots of the Chicago skyline) and the impressive Buckingham Fountain. The planetarium had some good exhibits on the Solar System and missions to the moon, including the landing capsule used as part of the Gemini 12 mission - it looked very cramped for two people! I also felt particularly smug as I wandered through the "eclipse chasers" exhibition, complete with maps of the US showing the path of Monday's eclipse and another one due to cross the country in 2024. Admission to the museum also included two shows which were both very informative and shown on domes above your head - one on the outer reaches of the Solar System and possibility of a ninth planet, and another on the stars and distant galaxies seen in the night sky. This afternoon, I headed over to the Sears Tower (now apparently known as the Willis Tower since they bought the naming rights - but I have about as much respect for that as the ridiculous naming of various stadia in the UK for sponsorship reasons!) The view from the observation deck on the 103rd floor was impressive (if somewhat expensive!) - you could see the vast built up area that is Chicago, way out over lake Michigan to the east, and into neighbouring Indiana to the south and Wisconsin to the north. The observation deck also had four glass boxes which hang over the edge of the building, meaning you can stand on the glass floor and look directly down at the street way below. After admiring the view, I headed back to my hotel (via the sign marking the start of the famous route 66) for a few hours, before heading out to Navy Pier in the evening. The pier extends out into Lake Michigan from the city centre, and contains a variety of eateries, fairground attractions and the like, but my reason for heading there was the free fireworks display they put on twice a week - the second evening running that Chicago has provided free entertainment! There were lots of boats in the harbour that were moving into position just before the fireworks started at 9:30. The fireworks themselves were enjoyable - comparable to any major bonfire night display in the UK - and once they finished all the boats in the harbour sounded their horns simultaneously in applause. I'm now back at my hotel once more; having seen all the major sights on my list today I'm planning a more laid back day tomorrow cycling and enjoying some of the beaches, before I head onto Toronto on Friday!
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Chicago has continued to impress today. I think today I've managed to tick of most of the landmarks of interest in my guidebook, which leaves tomorrow free for a cycle ride along the shores of Lake Michigan. I spent most of this morning at the Adler Planetarium, getting there via the parks by the lakeside, stopping briefly to see the "cloud gate" monument (a giant jelly bean shaped structure covered in reflective metal which makes for some interesting shots of the Chicago skyline) and the impressive Buckingham Fountain. The planetarium had some good exhibits on the Solar System and missions to the moon, including the landing capsule used as part of the Gemini 12 mission - it looked very cramped for two people! I also felt particularly smug as I wandered through the "eclipse chasers" exhibition, complete with maps of the US showing the path of Monday's eclipse and another one due to cross the country in 2024. Admission to the museum also included two shows which were both very informative and shown on domes above your head - one on the outer reaches of the Solar System and possibility of a ninth planet, and another on the stars and distant galaxies seen in the night sky. This afternoon, I headed over to the Sears Tower (now apparently known as the Willis Tower since they bought the naming rights - but I have about as much respect for that as the ridiculous naming of various stadia in the UK for sponsorship reasons!) The view from the observation deck on the 103rd floor was impressive (if somewhat expensive!) - you could see the vast built up area that is Chicago, way out over lake Michigan to the east, and into neighbouring Indiana to the south and Wisconsin to the north. The observation deck also had four glass boxes which hang over the edge of the building, meaning you can stand on the glass floor and look directly down at the street way below. After admiring the view, I headed back to my hotel (via the sign marking the start of the famous route 66) for a few hours, before heading out to Navy Pier in the evening. The pier extends out into Lake Michigan from the city centre, and contains a variety of eateries, fairground attractions and the like, but my reason for heading there was the free fireworks display they put on twice a week - the second evening running that Chicago has provided free entertainment! There were lots of boats in the harbour that were moving into position just before the fireworks started at 9:30. The fireworks themselves were enjoyable - comparable to any major bonfire night display in the UK - and once they finished all the boats in the harbour sounded their horns simultaneously in applause. I'm now back at my hotel once more; having seen all the major sights on my list today I'm planning a more laid back day tomorrow cycling and enjoying some of the beaches, before I head onto Toronto on Friday!
Date and time: Tuesday 22nd August 2017, 22:09 CDT (04:09 BST)
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Given the main objective of today was getting from St Louis to Chicago, I hadn't expected to have particularly much to write about, especially since I really didn't know what to expect from Chicago. How pleasantly surprised I am to have been proven wrong. I was woken this morning - at 5am - by a thunderstorm in St Louis, and it stayed overcast all morning as if to underline how lucky I had been to get clear skies at the crucial moments yesterday. I had a nice lazy start and left my hotel in St Louis after the rush hour traffic subsided. Although I now feel a bit more confident driving on the right, I still kept to the right on the 6-lane interstate highways that encircle St Louis as I headed up to the airport, taking care to top the car up with (very cheap!) fuel before returning it to the depot. St Louis airport was at least a bit more pleasant than New York's LaGuardia, and I picked up a couple of St Louis souvenirs. My flight to Chicago was with Southwest, who market themselves as a lower fares airline but are still big on customer service - not only did they not charge for checked luggage (American Airlines and Air Canada, take note!) they served complimentary drinks and snacks rather than charging extortionate prices (Ryanair and Easyjet, take note!) and the air hostesses kept everyone amused by gently mocking the common-sense parts of the aircraft safety demonstration. On landing at Chicago Midway, I had a seemingly endless walk through the terminal to baggage claim, before boarding the Chicago subway to take me into town. The subway was very efficient and also provided some tantalising first glimpses of the Chicago skyline as we approached the centre (known as the "Loop"). After checking into my hotel, I went out for a wander to try and get my bearings, not really having a plan for things to do nor knowing what to expect from Chicago. I was very pleasantly surprised - despite being a huge city, the place feels a lot more ordered and cleaner than lower Manhattan in New York. The city follows the grid system pretty strictly (unlike lower Manhattan), which makes for impressive views every time you cross a street and see the sky sandwiched between two rows of skyscrapers. The skyscrapers themselves also have a certain elegance to them, many having reflective glass on the outside, and since the streets are also fairly wide the place doesn't feel that claustrophobic. I wandered down the "Magnificent Mile" (Chicago's equivalent of Paris' Champs Elysees - full of overpriced shops) and down to the parks to the south east of the centre. I had a look around Millennium Park where there's a pavillion where they show movies for free during the summer in the evening. I had an hour or so before this evening's started, so had a wander out towards the shore of Lake Michigan - wonderfully blue water, and the lakeside path was full of cyclists and joggers (I regret not bringing my running gear with me!) I headed back to the pavillion and saw the movie being shown ("The Five Heartbeats" - about a soul band and their search for fame) with at least a couple of thousand other people, all sat on the grass, many with picnics. I only followed the movie for the first half or so, as after that it began getting dark and with the clear skies, I couldn't help myself from watching the surrounding skyscrapers light up around me. I'm now back at my hotel trying to plan out what to do with my two full days here - I think tomorrow I'll explore the main sights of the city itself (hopefully including going up the Sears/Willis tower) and on Thursday I'm thinking about hiring a bike and going cycling along Lake Michigan - my guidebook tells me there are some 18 miles of trails to explore!
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Given the main objective of today was getting from St Louis to Chicago, I hadn't expected to have particularly much to write about, especially since I really didn't know what to expect from Chicago. How pleasantly surprised I am to have been proven wrong. I was woken this morning - at 5am - by a thunderstorm in St Louis, and it stayed overcast all morning as if to underline how lucky I had been to get clear skies at the crucial moments yesterday. I had a nice lazy start and left my hotel in St Louis after the rush hour traffic subsided. Although I now feel a bit more confident driving on the right, I still kept to the right on the 6-lane interstate highways that encircle St Louis as I headed up to the airport, taking care to top the car up with (very cheap!) fuel before returning it to the depot. St Louis airport was at least a bit more pleasant than New York's LaGuardia, and I picked up a couple of St Louis souvenirs. My flight to Chicago was with Southwest, who market themselves as a lower fares airline but are still big on customer service - not only did they not charge for checked luggage (American Airlines and Air Canada, take note!) they served complimentary drinks and snacks rather than charging extortionate prices (Ryanair and Easyjet, take note!) and the air hostesses kept everyone amused by gently mocking the common-sense parts of the aircraft safety demonstration. On landing at Chicago Midway, I had a seemingly endless walk through the terminal to baggage claim, before boarding the Chicago subway to take me into town. The subway was very efficient and also provided some tantalising first glimpses of the Chicago skyline as we approached the centre (known as the "Loop"). After checking into my hotel, I went out for a wander to try and get my bearings, not really having a plan for things to do nor knowing what to expect from Chicago. I was very pleasantly surprised - despite being a huge city, the place feels a lot more ordered and cleaner than lower Manhattan in New York. The city follows the grid system pretty strictly (unlike lower Manhattan), which makes for impressive views every time you cross a street and see the sky sandwiched between two rows of skyscrapers. The skyscrapers themselves also have a certain elegance to them, many having reflective glass on the outside, and since the streets are also fairly wide the place doesn't feel that claustrophobic. I wandered down the "Magnificent Mile" (Chicago's equivalent of Paris' Champs Elysees - full of overpriced shops) and down to the parks to the south east of the centre. I had a look around Millennium Park where there's a pavillion where they show movies for free during the summer in the evening. I had an hour or so before this evening's started, so had a wander out towards the shore of Lake Michigan - wonderfully blue water, and the lakeside path was full of cyclists and joggers (I regret not bringing my running gear with me!) I headed back to the pavillion and saw the movie being shown ("The Five Heartbeats" - about a soul band and their search for fame) with at least a couple of thousand other people, all sat on the grass, many with picnics. I only followed the movie for the first half or so, as after that it began getting dark and with the clear skies, I couldn't help myself from watching the surrounding skyscrapers light up around me. I'm now back at my hotel trying to plan out what to do with my two full days here - I think tomorrow I'll explore the main sights of the city itself (hopefully including going up the Sears/Willis tower) and on Thursday I'm thinking about hiring a bike and going cycling along Lake Michigan - my guidebook tells me there are some 18 miles of trails to explore!
Date and time: Monday 21st August 2017, 20:30 CDT (02:30 BST)
Location: St Louis, Missouri, United States
Today has been about one thing only - something that's been on my bucket list for a while - and the experience is definitely up there with that night I saw the Northern Lights in Iceland. As was evident from my entry yesterday evening, I was fretting about the weather forecast which has been quite variable over the past few days. Last night I made my mind up and gambled on staying put rather than driving elsewhere for clear skies, as the forecast suggested a small region where I am with much clearer skies than the surrounding areas, such as the centre of St Louis. I woke naturally at 5am today but managed to get back to sleep for a bit, had breakfast around 9, and at around 11:30 headed for a small field adjacent to the car park of my hotel. I wasn't the only one there - there were around 20 other people, most with cameras on tripods like me. I got talking to a lady from northern Michigan - she and her husband had driven 10 hours to witness the event. The partial eclipse began around 11:50, and at this point everyone (including me) was looking up at the Sun with their eclipse glasses, watching the Moon slowly take out a larger bite of the Sun. Comparisons to Pacman were made as the Moon continued to move across. There were clouds in the sky at this point, but they were all well behaved and either stayed behind us or passed below the Sun. Another man on the field had a proper telescope set up with filters to dim the sunlight, and invited everyone to have a look through - you could see sunspots on the Sun (something you can't see without good magnification). Around an hour after the partial eclipse started (12:50, at 70% coverage), a drop in temperature started to become noticeable (which was welcome, given the 35°C heat!) As we approached around 85% coverage (13:05), the dimming of the light started to become apparent, and left the field I was situated in with a slightly eerie feel - sadly my camera didn't really capture this too well as it compensated for the light conditions. This point was similar to the partial eclipse I witnessed from work in Swindon back in March 2015. At this point, the Sun was in a large clear patch of sky - perfect timing for the upcoming events. At 95% coverage (13:15), things started to become really exciting; the sky began dimming considerably to the extent that street lights began coming on, and shortly afterwards the crickets in two of the trees in the field suddenly started making a din, which was surreal given it was the middle of the day. Two minutes later, totality began, everyone started cheering and removed their eclipse glasses. As totality starts (and ends), you see the phenomenon known as "Bailey's Beads", where some sunlight still shines through the valleys of the Moon but the solar disk itself is blocked out (see image below). I thought this was the most spectacular part of the eclipse. Between the two sets of beads, no sunlight reaches you at all, but the Moon is surrounded by a yellow glow, which is the corona of the Sun (essentially the Sun's atmosphere), which you can also see in the image below. During totality, the sky didn't go completely dark but was instead a much deeper blue like at twilight (the black in the image below is due to the camera), and Venus also appeared to the right of the Sun. Also remarkable was a "360 degree sunset" - in every direction the horizon took on orange and red hues that you normally only see in one particular direction when the Sun rises and sets. Sadly the total phase was all too short, lasting only 1 minute and 40 seconds from my vantage point, and the Sun emerged from behind the Moon once more. Most of the people in the field took this as their cue to leave as the partial eclipse unfolded in reverse, but I stayed to try and photograph the partial phases to the end. I succeeded in doing this for another hour or so, but at this point the cloud finally won and hid the Sun - but given it had stayed clear up to that point (and crucially, during totality), it was only a minor annoyance. I've spent this afternoon sorting through my pictures (more of which I will post in due course) and making good use of the hotel swimming pool given the 35°C heat. Though I suspect the highlight of my trip has now passed, I'm still particularly looking forward to Niagara Falls and Washington DC. Tomorrow - Chicago!
Location: St Louis, Missouri, United States
Today has been about one thing only - something that's been on my bucket list for a while - and the experience is definitely up there with that night I saw the Northern Lights in Iceland. As was evident from my entry yesterday evening, I was fretting about the weather forecast which has been quite variable over the past few days. Last night I made my mind up and gambled on staying put rather than driving elsewhere for clear skies, as the forecast suggested a small region where I am with much clearer skies than the surrounding areas, such as the centre of St Louis. I woke naturally at 5am today but managed to get back to sleep for a bit, had breakfast around 9, and at around 11:30 headed for a small field adjacent to the car park of my hotel. I wasn't the only one there - there were around 20 other people, most with cameras on tripods like me. I got talking to a lady from northern Michigan - she and her husband had driven 10 hours to witness the event. The partial eclipse began around 11:50, and at this point everyone (including me) was looking up at the Sun with their eclipse glasses, watching the Moon slowly take out a larger bite of the Sun. Comparisons to Pacman were made as the Moon continued to move across. There were clouds in the sky at this point, but they were all well behaved and either stayed behind us or passed below the Sun. Another man on the field had a proper telescope set up with filters to dim the sunlight, and invited everyone to have a look through - you could see sunspots on the Sun (something you can't see without good magnification). Around an hour after the partial eclipse started (12:50, at 70% coverage), a drop in temperature started to become noticeable (which was welcome, given the 35°C heat!) As we approached around 85% coverage (13:05), the dimming of the light started to become apparent, and left the field I was situated in with a slightly eerie feel - sadly my camera didn't really capture this too well as it compensated for the light conditions. This point was similar to the partial eclipse I witnessed from work in Swindon back in March 2015. At this point, the Sun was in a large clear patch of sky - perfect timing for the upcoming events. At 95% coverage (13:15), things started to become really exciting; the sky began dimming considerably to the extent that street lights began coming on, and shortly afterwards the crickets in two of the trees in the field suddenly started making a din, which was surreal given it was the middle of the day. Two minutes later, totality began, everyone started cheering and removed their eclipse glasses. As totality starts (and ends), you see the phenomenon known as "Bailey's Beads", where some sunlight still shines through the valleys of the Moon but the solar disk itself is blocked out (see image below). I thought this was the most spectacular part of the eclipse. Between the two sets of beads, no sunlight reaches you at all, but the Moon is surrounded by a yellow glow, which is the corona of the Sun (essentially the Sun's atmosphere), which you can also see in the image below. During totality, the sky didn't go completely dark but was instead a much deeper blue like at twilight (the black in the image below is due to the camera), and Venus also appeared to the right of the Sun. Also remarkable was a "360 degree sunset" - in every direction the horizon took on orange and red hues that you normally only see in one particular direction when the Sun rises and sets. Sadly the total phase was all too short, lasting only 1 minute and 40 seconds from my vantage point, and the Sun emerged from behind the Moon once more. Most of the people in the field took this as their cue to leave as the partial eclipse unfolded in reverse, but I stayed to try and photograph the partial phases to the end. I succeeded in doing this for another hour or so, but at this point the cloud finally won and hid the Sun - but given it had stayed clear up to that point (and crucially, during totality), it was only a minor annoyance. I've spent this afternoon sorting through my pictures (more of which I will post in due course) and making good use of the hotel swimming pool given the 35°C heat. Though I suspect the highlight of my trip has now passed, I'm still particularly looking forward to Niagara Falls and Washington DC. Tomorrow - Chicago!
Date and time: Monday 21st August 2017, 14:44 CDT (20:44 BST)
Location: St Louis, Missouri, United States
I'll let the image speak for itself. Full write up to follow this evening...
Location: St Louis, Missouri, United States
I'll let the image speak for itself. Full write up to follow this evening...
Date and time: Sunday 20th August 2017, 23:14 CDT (05:14 BST)
Location: St Louis, Missouri, United States
What a day! Though my jetlag is starting to subside, I was still up at around 5am this morning. Having seen all the sights on my list for lower Manhattan, I happily killed a few hours on the hotel's wifi before meeting David for brunch at 9am - conveniently within easy walking distance of my hotel. We grabbed a bagel and had a wander around some of the local parks in the neighbourhood in the morning sunshine before I headed on to LaGuardia airport. There, I boarded my flight to St Louis, Missouri - and it was quite clear from the variety of passports there plus a friendly St Louis native I got talking to that I was not the only eclipse chaser on that flight! There was much discussion of the weather forecast - which much to my annoyance is looking a lot less certain than it was a few days ago. On landing in Missouri, it was on to hire a car - a part of my trip I'll admit I've been a bit nervous about, with the driving on the wrong side of the road! Fortunately, everything has gone smoothly so far, I've found the roads around here fairly easy to navigate (given how wide they are), and the car is both automatic and contains an inbuilt sat-nav, which takes away two causes of stress! I had some spare time earlier this evening, so have stocked up on food from a local supermarket (which was absolutely huge by British standards), and then went into the centre of St Louis itself to see its most famous sight - the Gateway Arch. Nicknamed "the Gateway to the West", it sits on the west bank of the Mississippi river (with neighbouring Illinois on the other side) and commemorates the westward expansion of the United States. I also timed my visit pretty well as a nice sunset was taking shape behind the arch, so I crossed the river to get some pictures from the other side (posted at the link above). I'm now back at my (rather spacious) hotel room, trying to decide where to view tomorrow's eclipse from. Initially, it looked like St Louis would be completely clear, which changed two days ago to cloudy (at which point I was contemplating driving towards Kentucky for clear skies), though that's now changed again with southern Kentucky looking worse than St Louis. I'm very tempted to stay here and hope for the best - nowhere looks particularly certain but they reckon around 30% cloud coverage at the crucial time. This does also have the benefit that I can try to have a lie in...
Location: St Louis, Missouri, United States
What a day! Though my jetlag is starting to subside, I was still up at around 5am this morning. Having seen all the sights on my list for lower Manhattan, I happily killed a few hours on the hotel's wifi before meeting David for brunch at 9am - conveniently within easy walking distance of my hotel. We grabbed a bagel and had a wander around some of the local parks in the neighbourhood in the morning sunshine before I headed on to LaGuardia airport. There, I boarded my flight to St Louis, Missouri - and it was quite clear from the variety of passports there plus a friendly St Louis native I got talking to that I was not the only eclipse chaser on that flight! There was much discussion of the weather forecast - which much to my annoyance is looking a lot less certain than it was a few days ago. On landing in Missouri, it was on to hire a car - a part of my trip I'll admit I've been a bit nervous about, with the driving on the wrong side of the road! Fortunately, everything has gone smoothly so far, I've found the roads around here fairly easy to navigate (given how wide they are), and the car is both automatic and contains an inbuilt sat-nav, which takes away two causes of stress! I had some spare time earlier this evening, so have stocked up on food from a local supermarket (which was absolutely huge by British standards), and then went into the centre of St Louis itself to see its most famous sight - the Gateway Arch. Nicknamed "the Gateway to the West", it sits on the west bank of the Mississippi river (with neighbouring Illinois on the other side) and commemorates the westward expansion of the United States. I also timed my visit pretty well as a nice sunset was taking shape behind the arch, so I crossed the river to get some pictures from the other side (posted at the link above). I'm now back at my (rather spacious) hotel room, trying to decide where to view tomorrow's eclipse from. Initially, it looked like St Louis would be completely clear, which changed two days ago to cloudy (at which point I was contemplating driving towards Kentucky for clear skies), though that's now changed again with southern Kentucky looking worse than St Louis. I'm very tempted to stay here and hope for the best - nowhere looks particularly certain but they reckon around 30% cloud coverage at the crucial time. This does also have the benefit that I can try to have a lie in...
Date and time: Saturday 19th August 2017, 19:27 EDT (00:27 BST)
Location: New York, New York, United States
My prediction about being up early this morning came all too true - I woke at 03:40 and couldn't get back to sleep. I chose to cut my losses, got dressed and washed, and headed out to explore around 5am. Fortunately I had done my research and knew that the (free) Staten Island ferry runs at this time, so decided to take a ride there and back to enjoy the view of the Statue of Liberty and also got to see the sunrise over lower Manhattan. From there, I also had a wander over the (very impressive) Brooklyn Bridge (made all the more impressive given it was completed in the 1880's), which was fully of joggers out for an early Saturday morning run. By this point, it was still early - though no longer ridiculously so - so I headed back to the tip of lower Manhattan to board the ferry to Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty sits. The views from the ferry were fantastic - much helped by the fine weather (in contrast to yesterday evening). I didn't think much of the audio guide for Liberty Island (it seemed to talk almost exclusively about the symbolism of the statue, rather than facts about e.g. its construction), but the visit made for some good pictures. More impressive was the Ellis Island museum (and its audio guide), which documents how Ellis Island was used to process new arrivals to the United States in the early 20th century. I found the exhibits very engaging, and the staff there were very knowledgeable - one of them gave a demonstration of a hearing for new immigrants who were potentially going to be rejected on legal grounds (using members of the audience!) I ended up spending most of today in the museum and have been back at my hotel since - despite it only being 19:30, I'm feeling very sleepy. I've discovered a certain Mr Tattersall is now living and working in New York, so we have plans to do brunch tomorrow morning, after which I shall be off to LaGuardia airport to catch my flight down to Missouri...
Location: New York, New York, United States
My prediction about being up early this morning came all too true - I woke at 03:40 and couldn't get back to sleep. I chose to cut my losses, got dressed and washed, and headed out to explore around 5am. Fortunately I had done my research and knew that the (free) Staten Island ferry runs at this time, so decided to take a ride there and back to enjoy the view of the Statue of Liberty and also got to see the sunrise over lower Manhattan. From there, I also had a wander over the (very impressive) Brooklyn Bridge (made all the more impressive given it was completed in the 1880's), which was fully of joggers out for an early Saturday morning run. By this point, it was still early - though no longer ridiculously so - so I headed back to the tip of lower Manhattan to board the ferry to Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty sits. The views from the ferry were fantastic - much helped by the fine weather (in contrast to yesterday evening). I didn't think much of the audio guide for Liberty Island (it seemed to talk almost exclusively about the symbolism of the statue, rather than facts about e.g. its construction), but the visit made for some good pictures. More impressive was the Ellis Island museum (and its audio guide), which documents how Ellis Island was used to process new arrivals to the United States in the early 20th century. I found the exhibits very engaging, and the staff there were very knowledgeable - one of them gave a demonstration of a hearing for new immigrants who were potentially going to be rejected on legal grounds (using members of the audience!) I ended up spending most of today in the museum and have been back at my hotel since - despite it only being 19:30, I'm feeling very sleepy. I've discovered a certain Mr Tattersall is now living and working in New York, so we have plans to do brunch tomorrow morning, after which I shall be off to LaGuardia airport to catch my flight down to Missouri...
Date and time: Friday 18th August 2017, 20:55 EDT (01:55 BST)
Location: New York, New York, United States
As I write this, I've now been awake almost continuously for the last 22 hours, and am probably going to fall asleep very soon. It's been a very long day, with a 4am start in Bath in order to get to Bristol airport for 6, though I need not have rushed since the flight to Dublin was around 30 minutes late which made connecting in Ireland rather tight (particularly since I also had to clear US immigration there). I've made it to New York, though, which very much has the feel of a huge city, where you see all sorts of people who speak all sorts of languages. As (this time around) I'm staying in lower Manhattan, I wandered down to the World Trade Centre site to see the memorial museum and the two huge reflection pools. The museum itself took you underground and underneath the two pools (which mark where the twin towers used to stand) so that you could see the foundations of the former towers underneath. There was a chronology of the events of the day and lots of artifacts from the towers themselves and the subsequent rescue operations which was very well done. What I found most scary is that although the events of that day can now be considered "history", I can still remember the day they happened - perhaps a sign that I'm starting to get a bit older! The weather here has been quite spectacular this evening (i.e. thunderstorms!) so I've come back to my hotel rather than stay out, which I think is probably a good idea since I'm anticipating my body clock waking me rather early (US time) tomorrow. I'm planning to take the ferry out to the statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tomorrow (and see what else there is to do around lower Manhattan) before I head on to St Louis on Sunday in preparation for Monday's eclipse!
Location: New York, New York, United States
As I write this, I've now been awake almost continuously for the last 22 hours, and am probably going to fall asleep very soon. It's been a very long day, with a 4am start in Bath in order to get to Bristol airport for 6, though I need not have rushed since the flight to Dublin was around 30 minutes late which made connecting in Ireland rather tight (particularly since I also had to clear US immigration there). I've made it to New York, though, which very much has the feel of a huge city, where you see all sorts of people who speak all sorts of languages. As (this time around) I'm staying in lower Manhattan, I wandered down to the World Trade Centre site to see the memorial museum and the two huge reflection pools. The museum itself took you underground and underneath the two pools (which mark where the twin towers used to stand) so that you could see the foundations of the former towers underneath. There was a chronology of the events of the day and lots of artifacts from the towers themselves and the subsequent rescue operations which was very well done. What I found most scary is that although the events of that day can now be considered "history", I can still remember the day they happened - perhaps a sign that I'm starting to get a bit older! The weather here has been quite spectacular this evening (i.e. thunderstorms!) so I've come back to my hotel rather than stay out, which I think is probably a good idea since I'm anticipating my body clock waking me rather early (US time) tomorrow. I'm planning to take the ferry out to the statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tomorrow (and see what else there is to do around lower Manhattan) before I head on to St Louis on Sunday in preparation for Monday's eclipse!
