1. The prospect of driving* on the right-hand side of the road, with unknown road rules, in a strange city on the other side of the world is a thousand times scarier than the actuality. *Not that I drove, mind, but I navigated. And navigation turned out to be heaps more intuitive than in Australian cities, thanks to the street numbering system and the excellent signage and the numbering of exits. Pretty hard to miss Exit 51 knowing it'll be the one after Exit 50. And 5th Street is always the one after 4th.
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| In Shelbyville, Kentucky |
2. The Grand Canyon really is grand. And no matter how many photos you take, from how many angles, each meant to catch a unique shift in light and shadow and colour, you simply cannot capture what you see. We stayed in the park, right by the south rim, so we could experience both sunset and sunrise. Totally worth it.
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| Picture 158 of this same view! |
3. Usually I rely on the trusty iPhone but for this trip I borrowed a real camera. I probably should have spent some time learning how to use it, but that's another story. I borrowed the camera partly because of the Grand Canyon and partly in anticipation of wildlife sightings (Montana and the Canadian Rockies, you guys!) Yeah, well, I ended up buying prints from a wildlife photographer's gallery who told us that we'd need to get up a lot earlier and hike a lot further to capture anything remotely wild. He had a point.
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| Encounter with some not-so-wild-life |
4. Speaking of not-so-wild-life: Dogs are allowed on planes. In their own seats. Who knew? This guy was so well behaved and safety-conscious and he had his own ID (passport?) attached to his harness. Here he is listening to the safety briefing. In case of emergency, I was backing him to know more than most passengers.
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| Dog On A Plane |
5. This wasn't my first visit to Las Vegas, but on my first visit I think I was completely dazzled by the glitter and glamour and bright lights. This visit opened my eyes a little wider. Perhaps we were travel-worn, this being our last stop, but we found ourselves retreating to our hotel rather often. Turned out that the piano bar in the Bellagio was more our speed than negotiating the hawkers on the Strip.
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| From our Room with a View |
6. I've kept the least surprising observation for last: no matter where I go, no matter what my intentions, I will always find a bookstore that I cannot walk past. This was in Columbus, Ohio. I stopped. I shopped. Nothing more to say…except 32 rooms! Of bargain books!!
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| Could you resist? |
WOW thank you Bronwyn loved that I have never been to The States so I do love hearing about other people's trips :) great pictures and you gotta love that book shop awesome
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a blast :)
Have Fun
Helen
We did, Helen. It was truly wonderful from start to finish. I have a bill smile on my face thinking about it!
DeleteBron, that looks like an amazing trip! Thanks so much for sharing. I especially love the photo of you at the bookshop.
ReplyDeleteIt was an amazing place. My husband, in his completely pragmatic fashion, told me it was a total fire trap, with all these rooms lined with highly flammable materials (aka books) and insufficient fire escapes. That did not stop me!
DeleteLove that photo of the canyon, Bronwyn. And laugh, we were flying Paris to San Francisco two years ago and I got a surprise to see a large poodle in the row behind us. Never knew dogs were allowed on board passenger flights. He was the best behaved passenger on the plane, and as his owners were Asian someone pointed out he was probably used to being in an apartment all day so well housetrained too.
ReplyDeleteI know! This guy was so well behaved as well. I'm sure he was a well seasoned traveller. He had his own blankie and curled up and slept for most of the trip.
DeleteBron, it sounds like a wonderful trip! I love that book store with 32 rooms of books. I've been on planes in the US with dogs and they've been very well behaved. So much safer I would think than being in the hold. One cute puppy did, however, have "a little accident" in his carrier. The resulting odour wafted all through the plane which was not too pleasant!
ReplyDeleteOh, dear, not pleasant at all. Now you mention it, there was a dog in the hold on an earlier flight. We could hear it barking at take-off and landing but not in between. I couldn't help being worried for it down there, barking for someone to come get him out. Poor baby.
DeleteI had no idea you could take a dog on a plane! I wonder if it's just a matter of buying them a ticket, or if you need special approval. My mind is now ticking over... :)
ReplyDeleteI wanted to ask but the lady went to sleep and we didn't get a chance. I really am curious as well. Might only take a bit of googling to find the answer.
DeleteLoved the pics, Bron. So thrilled you had a great time. The Grand Canyon sure lives up to its name, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteTotally does. Both grand and canyon-like. LOL. Hubbie made a dry remark after we'd both been standing in silent awe for some time, something along the lines of: "Now that's what I call erosion."
DeleteBron, your trip looks amazing! I hope it's been as fabulous as you hoped it would be. I'm also in awe of your navigation skills (Mr Douglas tells me I'm brilliant at everything...except navigation ;-) ).
ReplyDeleteLove the deer! Did you get to hand feed it?
I'm rather proud of my navigation skills on this occasion as well. That is not always the case, let me tell you! As much to do with the excellent signage as any skill on my part but I'll take the plaudits regardless.
DeleteAnd, yes, the trip was brilliant.
Bron, 32 rooms of bargain books! How did your luggage allowance cope!
ReplyDeleteLove your pics! Especially that cheeky deer and the dog on the plane! So pleased to hear you've had a great time.
LOL. I was very restrained, mostly because of the luggage allowance. That was our second stop and with 8 more flights I had to be careful. I did get some lovely gifts, though, and that is necessary shopping, right?
DeleteWow, that secondhand bookshop would have been amazing. I think anyone who posts/comments on this blog would be attracted to bookstore though.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the navigation thing. Although Hastings doesn't number their streets, most of the city is laid out in a grid-type pattern and many streets have a North/South or East/West in their name. Additionally every time there is an intersection on a street, whether it be a T intersection or one of those that goes 4 directions (like the + sign), street numbers on both sides of a street will jump to the next hundred. Meant 1 place I lives 400 Park Road South was next to something like 328. Takes a little getting used to but once you're used to it, it's great for locating places.
This is also why I prefer driving in Hastings over Wellington a lot of the time - easier to find things, especially as I wouldn't be surprised if Mum's old joke of Wellington streets being established on sheep and chicken tracks was accurate (many windy roads and many narrow roads).
Oops, that got longer than I intended