Best laid plans

Last night I just couldn't get to sleep as I was stressed about the remaining planning for the next part of my trip and my mind was racing with ideas. When I woke this morning I decided I'd have to ditch my plans to reach Denver and Vancouver and now think I'll be heading to Canada sooner and sticking to the area between Toronto and Montreal whilst I'm there.

As a result of not sleeping properly my mind wasn't working and my stomach also felt poorly so I elected to stay around the house this morning then ventured out at the same time as Tammy went to work,  grabbed a drink and went to wait for the bus to the city to watch the football. I had to change to the tram in the city but got to the Big Ben Pub, home to the Queen City Gooners with plenty of time to spare. I was the first fan there and it was quiet with it being a weekday afternoon but a few more fans did drift in. I had something to eat during the poor game, Besiktas 0-0 Arsenal and at least the food made me feel a bit better. 

It poured with rain when the match was on but thankfully had stopped by the time I came to head to the bus which I just managed to catch saving me time getting to the house in the rush hour traffic. I did some further trip planning and late in the evening started my packing. I've got a long day of travelling ahead of me.

Big Ben Pub

Exploring Charlotte

Today I ventured on the bus into Charlotte. Tammy dropped me at the nearby park and ride just when a bus was scheduled but only one came through which I thought was headed north, not south so I ended up waiting for an hour. At least I was in the shade as it started to get sunnier after an early morning shower.

Charlotte really is a lot smaller than I imagined. I found a visitor centre and got some maps but didn't need to refer to them much. I visited the main parks; The Green, Fourth Ward Park and Romare Bearden Park and had a delicious burger for lunch at the 7th Street Public Market. It really had started to hot up and I'd been in the city walking for a fair amount of time so I made my way back to the City Transit Centre only to find after a while looking around that although timetabled to leave from there the bus actually left from two blocks away. The journey home was quick as I got out before rush hour and I worked up a good sweat walking from the park and ride back to the house.

This evening I spent time on my tablet then Tammy's laptop booking up some of the next stages of my trip. I'm getting there (just).

The Green

Niki de Saint Phalle - The Firebird, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

Fourth Ward Park

Lazy Sunday

It has been a frustrating day. I woke up very early so got up, had breakfast then sat on Tim's laptop trying to work on my travel plans. Although Amtrak is the nicer way to travel it certainly isn't as convenient as the Greyhound with not all the country covered and some less than ideal schedules. Then I looked at places to travel to from here and could either get to them but not find anywhere to stay or the other way around. I took another in depth look this evening after Tim and Tammy had both gone to bed and am slowly starting to get there with the planning.

I went out with Tim to Davidson, a local town for a walk early this afternoon. It didn't have a lot to offer but did have a quite pretty old university campus. It seems odd that such a relatively small place would host a large educational institution. You've got to wonder what the students do with their time off. We stopped for coffee in the village on the way back and have just been hanging out at the house for the rest of that day.

We went past the park and ride earlier where the buses go from to Charlotte so tomorrow and on Tuesday I plan to head into the city to explore. Tim's off to visit family in Canada and Tammy will be working so it's my best opportunity to take a look around.

With Tim

Easy Saturday

Today was taken at a very slow pace. I was up early with Tim to go to a cars and coffee meet up and we took his neighbours 1963 Corvette Sting Ray. Such a nice car and so noisy. There weren't that many people there so we weren't out for very long. 

Tammy made some Belgian waffles and then it was nearly time for the football to kick off and I was able to watch the Arsenal vs Crystal Palace game on NBC although there was no match build up and very little analysis at half time or after. We won (just) so that made for a good start to the Premier League season. 

I've been around the house most of the day. It felt very hot out to me and I'm nursing a lot of insect bites from last night. My laundry has been done and I've been looking into the option of getting a 30 day Amtrak pass for continuation of my travel. I need to understand just what is covered by it and then will finalise my planning as I'd like to head off on Wednesday and have my next few ports of call sorted by that time. After dinner we went out to the village for ice cream. It was very nice but I think I got bitten a fair few more times.

1963 Corvette Sting Ray

Birkdale Village

Today was spent in and around Birkdale Village, 10 minutes walk from Tim and Tammy's house. After a Skype chat with Mum and Dad this morning I headed into the village and left Tim mowing the lawn. The village feels almost fake as it's so new. The centre is well equipt with lots of different stores including big brands and even a cinema. After a quick walk around I headed to get a coffee and waited for Tim to come and find me.

When we met up we went to a bar with a barbers inside (very unique) so he could get his hair cut and we played some games of shuffleboard. Such a simple yet fiendishly difficult game. We headed out of the village to Target to grab some shopping then back to the house for a snack and to wait for Tammy to finish work.

After we ate supper Tim and I headed back to the bar to meet up with some of his friends and to play more shuffleboard and have only just gotten home. A fun night out in a surprising buzzing bar.

Birkdale Village

Arrival in Charlotte

I'm so tired. The trip to Charlotte really took it out of me. I left Baltimore on the bus at 10pm, had a 2 hour layover in Richmond at 1.30am then arrived in the city just before 10am. I slept a fair bit on the second bus but it was full so there wasn't any room to spread out.

Just after I arrived my cousin Tim turned up to pick me up and we drove the short distance back to his house in Huntersville. Tammy, his wife was home and after I'd taken a much needed shower and had some breakfast we drove her to work, took a quick look around town, went grocery shopping then came back to the house for some lunch.

In the middle of the afternoon we headed out to go see friends of Tim's who work at two workshops refurbishing old Jaguar and Porsche cars. We spent a fair amount of time there with Tim catching up and looking at some great old cars in various states of repair. We came back to the house in time for tea and I've spent a lot of the evening watching TV. Now my head is definitely ready for bed.

Tim and Tammy's House, Huntersville

Mount Vernon, Walters Art Museum and more

It's been bright, sunny and breezy which made for a very pleasant day. A huge change from yesterday. I woke up very early so got up, showered, had breakfast, packed my things and sat on the patio with my trainers and boots drying in the sun. They were dry enough to pack by the time I needed to check out, 11am. I left my bag in storage and took the Circulator bus out to the railway station then walked back towards the hostel through Mount Vernon. There certainly is plenty to see and lots of history on the streets. I went into the Walters Art Museum where I spent a long time looking at the eclectic selection of paintings and artifacts. It reminded me in many ways of the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford.

After lunch at the hostel I walked to City Hall and got the Circulator bus from nearby which I rode around Federal Hill then walked a short distance to look at the American Visionary Art Museum and its sculpture garden (although I didn't actually go inside the museum). I rode the Circulator bus all the way out to Fort McHenry where I had another quick stop then rode the bus back to the very neat Harbour Connector water taxi service. That dropped me at Harbour East and from there I walked back to the hostel grabbing snacks for my trip and something to eat tonight on the way.

I need to find out how best to get to the Greyhound station. It doesn't look far but with my bag I'd prefer to get a bus. I want to be there early enough but not too early for my bus which leaves just after 10pm. I've got a 2 hour stop in Richmond at 1.30am and should arrive in Charlotte about 10am. Hopefully I can sleep at least a few hours along the way.

City Hall

American Visionary Art Museum

American Visionary Art Museum sculpture garden

Rainy day

There is only one word to describe today and that's wet. I had a very restless night's sleep but woke up once I'd had plenty of coffee and the free pancakes offered by the hostel (mixture supplied for you to make your own). I didn't realise quite how much it was raining when I first headed out and it was still very warm. I went inside the Basilica for a look around and then walked down to Lexington Market. From there I walked to Oriole Park, home of the local baseball team and took a very quick walk around the stadium. It was raining so heavily and I was getting soaked so I ended up coming back up to the hostel. I headed back out across the road to the Basilica for midday mass then to the hostel again to eat some lunch and try and find things to do around town which were inside.

I took the Circulator bus to the east of the city centre and visited the Tattoo Museum. Very unique and interesting whilst also a working tattoo studio. My boots were fairing better than my trainers had in the rain and I was already wet so I decided to stay out and walk to the Civil War Museum. Unfortunately though it wasn't open on a Tuesday (the same was true for two art galleries I could have visited). I took a walk out to Fell's Point but the rain started to get really torrential and eventually I stepped in a puddle which sent water over the top of my boots and soaked my feet. There was nowhere under cover to wait for a Circulator bus so I opted to walk back to the hostel where I took a shower and hung my things up to dry. There is a dryer in the basement which I'll use as soon as it's free. Ironically the rain stopped about 5pm but I won't be heading out again. I had wanted to get a ticket for tonight's baseball game but that actually got postponed so it's a good thing I didn't. There's a movie night at the hostel and I want to get my clothes dry and hope for better weather tomorrow as I have all day to explore before my bus leaves for Charlotte.

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore

Today started out at a leisurely pace as I had little to do in Philadelphia except pack. I made one quick trip to the bakery for travel snacks then headed out at 10.30am for my bus. The journey to Baltimore was quicker than expected. I did a bit of reading onboard and sent a couple of e-mails but it really was quite a short trip. The oddities of Megabus meant we were dropped off someway outside the city at a huge shopping complex. I was prepared for this but still had to ask someone exactly where to get the bus from to the city centre. The bus took ages to come and it was quite a long trip through some desirable and some less desirable neighbourhoods. I saw plenty of boarded up rowhouses which could well have been where The Wire was filmed.

I arrived at my hostel just as it was time to check in, 3.30pm. It's a very nice building in a central location right opposite the Basilica. After taking time to settle and survey a map I walked down to the harbour and up to Federal Hill Park which gave a great view. I walked back down and around the harbour looking at all the historical ships and boats. You can see a lot of investment has gone into the area and there were plenty of other tourists wandering around and a huge visitors centre. I made my way back up to and past the hostel to the nearest supermarket and stocked up on supplies for my time here then came back and cooked.

The Downtown area and main sites seem quite compact so I should be able to see a lot within walking distance. They also have a free bus, the Charm City Circulator which runs on various central routes and should get me to whatever I want to see. I need to bury my head in the maps and leaflets I picked up to work out exactly where I should be going to during my time here.

HI Hostel, Baltimore

Harbour and Downtown

Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse

Community Shield, South Street and Tori Amos

I had an early start as I had to get to the Misconduct Tavern by 10am for the kick off of the Community Shield which I was watching with the Arsenal Philadelphia supporters club. They were most welcoming and quite dedicated (my photo doesn't do justice to how busy it was). I sat at the bar and had some interesting conversations with the fans to both sides of me. It was a good game and the 3-0 result was of course most pleasing. Hopefully it'll be the springboard for a successful season.

I'd noticed earlier that Tori Amos was playing at the Kimmel Center just around the corner in the evening. I would have been really annoyed if I'd have missed that concert and was lucky enough to find that there were still some tickets available for under $50. After getting my ticket I walked to Penn's Landing on the Delaware River. On the way there I bumped into my tour guide from yesterday taking another group around. On the riverside I stumbled into Bassmaster event. There was plenty of fishing equipment and even boats to be had alongside the fishing competition.

I walked on and down to South Street. I took more of it in today and checked out some of the stores. From there I walked down to the Italian Market again and back around and up to South Street to look at the stores on the other side of the road. I was starting to flag so got the subway back to the apartment to put my feet up and have something to eat.

The Kimmel Center is a fantastic building and Tori did, as always put in a magnificent performance. She played a quite different set from that I saw in London some months back. The only thing which spoilt it were a couple sporadically chatting next to me which meant I struggled to get fully into the concert until quite some time had passed. I did try and ask them to quieten down but was somewhat distracted.

I do like Philadelphia and feel I've discovered a lot more of it on this trip than on previous visits here. Tomorrow I move from here onto Baltimore.

Watching the Community Shield

At Bassmaster

Tori Amos, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts