Brothers Pearson RTW 09

The Long Road Home

Well, clearly I survived, but I’ve never wanted something to be over more in my life. If my internal time zones weren’t messed up after my first overnighter to NYC, they were definitely screwed after spending 12 hours waiting at JFK & flying 6 hours to LAX! 2 things lucky happened to me on the last route, unfortunately, neither of them were an upgrade!

I managed to get around 8 hours sleep, which was a blessing, having only slept about 4 hours in total before getting to LA (Thanks Boks!) & I had a cool row mate, only two of us at the arse end of the plane. Which after having a string of people who weren’t friendly enough to say hi back, was a nice surprise.

Was it worth the amount I saved on a one way ticket home.... well, I lived, so yeah it probably was!

I could’ve kissed the ground when we landed in Sydney, I was so happy to be home, familiar territory, the girl sitting next to me though i was nuts, delirious and wired out of my mind from sleep deprivation and the long haul maybe, but nuts, well the jury is still out on that one!

I had brought home some Vida coffee beans from Will & Grant’s company in SA. So naturally I was a little worried when I declared them that I was going to end up with a full body cavity search! Thankfully, as they were beans, properly sealed and packaged, I had no issues and it was straight through. I’d opted for a cab home, which turned out to be another journey in itself, with the line for cabs being around half an hour! Around A$100 later I was home, what has happened in my absence, it’s only a 25km trip! Oh well, it was worth it. A shower, clean clothes and teeth & I was back... Felt so good..... But I’d had a blast. What a trip.

Reflection

The most common thing I get asked is, what was your favourite place? Seems like an easy question, but I had 3 continents or even timeframes with very different experiences. How do you compare camping in Africa, with hostelling in Europe, Seeing wildlife in it’s raw surrounds vs Manhattan? So I’ve broken it down into continents

Africa

Tanzania, for my mind is the pick, with the highlight of the whole of the Afica trip being the Ngorongoro Crater! That place is absolutely breathtaking, nowhere else was the wildlife so abundant and right there in front of you.

Tanzania is also home to Zanzibar which has an old Spicetown and main port at one end, full og mixed Arabic, African history & Sultan’s ruins etc. At the other end, is pure paradise, Coral reefs just off the shore, sunset cruises, bungaloes and BYO restaurants and beach bars.

In addition, you have the Serengetti, Mt Kiliminjaro and the Masaai warriors in all their glory & Dar Es Salaam!

Noteable mention to Botswana for the Delta & Malawi, bodysurfing in a lake and some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet, just watchout what haridressers you go to.

Most hair raising experience! Gorge Swing in Vic Falls & Lion Walk in Vic Falls!

South Africa was awesome, but I don’t think as raw. But clearly, I am biased, I have mates & a date!

Europe

Portugal - Mark and I agree, on the whole this was the best country and the one we wanted to spend alot more time in exploring, great culture, beautiful surrounds, friendly people & similar view on life to aussies. Definitely heading back at some stage, skip Lagos, go to Sagres. We didn’t and we regretted it.

France - It is the prettiest city.

Croatia - gorgeous and absolutely crazy, beats the Greek Islands hands down.

Berlin, Budapest & Prague - East meets West in these places and the history, food, beer & people are amazing! Berlin was unbelievable as a city... hope to head back.

Italy - was great, but expensive and didn’t meet the expectations. So hard to get into the local Psyche. However, home to the best food.... Como & Praiano (near positano)

Switzerland - Great mates (Steeley and Marco), Great food, Great adventures & so damn efficient!

Barcelona - loosest mainland city, try a Monica Lewinski at Chupito’s!

Canada & The US

Best City - NYC, hands down. Was absolutely amazing.

Best Town - Boston/Anacortes, had fun at both and both stunning.

Canada - just awesome, people were great, music in Montreal was awesome, the park in Vancouver on the seawall is amazing!

Conclusion

I was fortunate enough to be able to go away, see the world, experience it all to the fullest, meet some absolutely awesome people, make some great mates, some of whom hopefully will be mates for life, drink great beer, sample the world’s cuisine, fall out of love and in love. Was it worth it? Most Definitely!

So, I think that’s it, I’m done.... I’m home, back to reality! Thanks for reading!

Lots of Love,

Guy

Just wanted to say a few thankyous.........

Thankyou’s

Would love to thank the following people for enabling this trip to happen: (in no particular order)

Mark, was an absolute pleasure travelling with you bro.
Mum, So stoked you could come over to travel with us, loved having you there.
Will Dutton, Thanks for putting us up in Durban & the opportuntieis you’ve provided me, look forward to seeing you in Syd shortly!
Steve & Boks - you guys have well and truly hooked me up with the best thing to come from the trip.
Tammy - Seriously, you must be crazy! Love you.
Robyn Farrell - Thanks for having me in your gorgeous home!
Rob Steele & Lorna - Geneva was awesome, thanks so much!
Norm & Sheila - Birmo was unreal, am going to miss your squabbling.
The Caigou’s - We had a blast with you in London, Chris when are you coming to Sydney?
Dave Chen & Leslie - Such a comfy couch, see you in December!
The Stoner’s - Anacortes was beautiful, the food & company was amazing. Thankyou so much!
Stoner - Mate, you’re a lifesaver! West Coast wouldn’t have been the same without you!
Dave Luc - Mate, what a host, the full treatment. Seattle is your city!
Ryan Simpson - Mate, you’re a crazy kid, but I luvs ya. Thanks for showing me Van City!
Eva (NYC) - Had a blast, thanks to you and your crew for all your hospitality!
Eva & Kate (Miami) - Thanks for making Miami enjoyable!
Rita - Thanks for the NYC hookup & the accom in Philly. Had a blast!

Everyone else I’ve met along the way, stay in touch!

Cape Town

Grant Dutton conned me into playing touch footy, playing at Camps Bay was called off due to the wind, thinking I’d gotten out of it as the wind was absolutely blowing a gail, my heart sunk when he told me, it had simply been moved to Clifton #4, one of the next beaches. Surprisingly, I didn’t fare too badly, but it confirmed that I was quite unfit for sport, I could walk until the cows came home after Europe and the States, but couldn’t run in sand to save myself. Was happy not to cause too many tries for the other team and score a few of my own. Somehow, Clifton had been well protected. Tam was off at KPMG for a graduate 2011 employment seminar as she’s signed up with them.

After a shower in Grant’s now former residence, recently sold, Tam met back up with us & we went out to dinner with some of Grant’s old buddies from Joburg and his flatmate Dick Nail, or Nick Dale when he hasn’t been drinking. On introducing myself, stories came back to mind of Mark’s night of mayhem in CPT with Dick & Grant, when I reminded Dick, he just freaked out, apparently Mark had steered the night into carnage & Dick had been riding shotgun, feeling every drink the next day as he struggled through his Saturday clientele, would’ve loved to have seen the styles that day mate! It looked like we were going to rev up for a biggish night, although Tam revelaed she hadn’t seen the Hangover, the boys were beside themselves, we checked the timetables and were going to be able to make the last slot, so we were happily excused (which never happens... that’s how epic the movie is for them) and we were off to almost wet ourselves laughing to the Hangover!

Lili Gemmell, a friend from Avalon, had come into town to see her Saffa man Brad, who is at uni with Tammy. Confusing isn’t it. So I caught up with her for a seaside lunch & a bow wow as she had just been travelling in Europe and we were in similar circumstances when in came to matters of the heart, so asked for her advice, thanks Lil! Was great to discuss how the Saffa’s worked with another Aussie, whom had experienced more than I. Shame I didn’t get to meet the lad, but am sure he’s a great bloke. Enjoy SA, as I understand it, you’re staying there for the better part of the next year or so? Another great meal with Will & Storm at their place this time, great finish to the day!

The night that the Cane Train hit me as I entered into the contest full of confidence with Dick Nale, his girlfriend Romy, Denton & Lyndal, Tam, Whilst Will and Storm wisely watched on... Never again will I claim to be able to handle a countries local booze. Now of course it could’ve been the fact that I was playing a drinking game with Grant, who, loves to get others drunk, it could’ve been caused by me being double parked with wine & beer for a few hours before we started playing, it could be that Tam decided she wanted to drive & I had to drink her drinks as well, it could be the fact we played with Cane, Vodka, then beer, but I don’t want to make any excuses! What is a fact is that I got my ass kicked and that cofidence is a game that is designed just to get you drunk & is solely a game of luck with no real strategy available. Somehow, by 9.30 am I was feeling game enough to tackle breakkie! After saying Happy BDay to mum, we went off to Cafe Roux, with Amber, the dog, for breakkie. Now Tam had suggested a walk on the beach first, but I was hanging big time and needed some sustinance! Big mistake, not for me, I was right as rain when we’d eaten, but Amber wouldn’t get out of the back of the mini as she’d already eaten! So much for a walk! The laziest Farrell for sure!

One of the reasons for coming back to CPT, was, of course, Steve’s Bolognaise! I’d spent 6 weeks hearing about it in Africa & despite a party being held elsewhere, I was determined to sample this delicacy! It was a Thursday night only thing, I’d waited patiently for a week and a half, having been planning a sample as soon as I booked my flights. I must say, it lived up to all expectations, mate, it was better than Duncan’s Spag Bowl. Well done champ, glad there was enough for leftovers the next day, can’t have you going hungry. So a Spag Bowl, followed by a Lion documentary, in good company, doesn’t get much better. I had to drag the other guest, James “Killer Prawn” out at the end of the night as he was getting too cosy & without Lions, Steve was falling asleep on the couch! Off to Mary’s Bday Braai, to meet some more of Tam’s uni mates & catch up with the SA Guy, Mary & co. Great night had, but we were all gearing up for the weekend in Breede River that was to commence the following day at Mary’s family place there. Giddy Up!

Breede River

What a beautiful place, Tam’s little Barina tour up the 65km of gravel road from the highway to the house. Breede River leads into the ocean and is a common playground for Whales, which we were lucky enough to witness from the point after running into Enfanta, which is the beachside town, 5km from the front door of the house. With the house itself being right on the river. Now if I had any doubts that Tam could run, they were put to rest when she slaughtered me by about 1500m on the 5km run to the beach front! I almost collapsed, but manage to stumble into the ocean for a cool down, before heading up on the point headland for lunch! However, I’m convinced that exercise causes illness, I managed to get sinus pain and a cold as a result of the run! haha. So unfortunately, I was asleep whilst everyone else partied it up on the second night, the first night had been pretty chilled out.

Mary’s folks, her grandma & the family friends in the main house were a classic, Omi, was awesome! What I hadn’t realised is that Tam’s Grandma, mum & Mary’s Grandma & mum had all been coming to Breede for years together & thus there was an intermingled history, including the dogs, with Tammy’s Dog Amber being the daughter of Mary’s family’s last dog! Talk about incestuous!

Despite the horrid weather and cramming 10 or so people into the one open room in the “kid’s house”, I had a great time in Breede, the food was unreal & in mass quantity, the view was spectacular, the air was fresh & it was unfortunately the last time I would be seeing these kids in SA in the near foreseeable future at least. There was sadness on both sides, but I’m not 100% sure that the Saffa’s weren’t shedding tears of joy! haha. Another Aussie leaving the country! Great crew I’d met, Memsie, JP, Vikki & I had spent a lot of time hanging out. Hopefully I’ll see you guys all again sometime soon, best of luck for the future!

Cape Town - Last 2 days

Maybe it was the fresh air, but upon returning to CPT, I was ready to roll, all my illnesses had faded away! I spent the last 2 days catching up with Will, Grant, Steve, Boks & Robbie & spending as much time with Tam as I could. I’d found the rugby store, next to the Rugby stadium in Newlands, after circling round for about half an hour, with the struggle paying off as I picked up a number of things, with the prize pruchase being a little tiked 1997 Wallabies World Cup Official Jersey, not only was it the year we’d won & the last one left. It provided me the perfect excuse to deck out young Harry Dutton in the real Green n Gold! Thank god, Storm didn’t want to hang me as a result. Will & Grant thought it was hilarious!

It was sad to say goodbye to CPT, I’d had a great time, made new mates and cemented friendships with old mates. Found a new love in life, we’d booked a ticket to make sure we’d see each other again (Can’t wait for December!) & answered Steve & Aunty Pam’s queries on what we were going to do now & were we in a relationship.... Funny conversations to have. It’s funny, someone had told me I would come home with a gorgeous 6 foot blonde supermodel, lucky for me they weren’t far off!

Now it was time for the real challenge, not a long distance relationship, I was pretty sure I could handle that. But a 2.5 day trip home.... CPT - JHB (2 hour layover) - JFK (12 hour stopover) - LAX (1.5 hour layover) - SYD , all in one sitting. I’d like to thank a certain SA chemist for giving me some mild sleeping pills, otherwise, given my track record, I would’ve been a zombie when I got home!

Much Love to CPT, only thing needed now, is a wrap up..... To come shortly!

Cape Town

Well, timing is everything I guess & my first Monday in CPT was also Tam’s Birthday. 25, what a great age, definitely been the best year of my life thus far, though it’d be sad if it hadn’t been, having seen a large chunk of the world, not having worked since the end of February & made plenty of great friends along the way. In typical fashion, she’d said not to get her anything, but I ingored that and got her a few little pressies, thankfully she loved them I think & I started off in her good books!

Breakfast was on with Steve, Bokke, Robbie & Aunty Pam at Greens, a cool little Cafe, where Steve only ever orders the one thing, I think it’s Eggs & mushrooms on Rye.... Should know as we ate there at least 3 times in 2 weeks and he ordered the same thing every time.. Get out there a little bit mate! I’d like to thank Pam for her inquistiveness into my person, although I was caught a little offguard with questions about the Australian economy, politics etc. as she was well aware I hadn’t been home in 7 months, I could give only vague answers, but promised to deliver the information at a later date. Only downside is my Breakkie was cold, by the time I was able to get stuck into it!

That night, Tam had a dinner with friends over at her place, which were basically an extension of their family as the Farrell’s have always been the place to go when you wanted to hang out it would seem. Hence I would end up seeing a lot of this crew over the next few weeks. The food, was, well, Wow! The company was great, jokes flying round the table, Tam’s mum dishing out a few comments that had people in hysterics, how many glasses you on now Robbie? haha. New editions to the ever increasing crew were Sianne, whom I would see several times and a few others, whom I would not see again, but it was nice to meet you! All in all it was a classic night & was a prelude to Tam’s actual party that coming Friday, I need to learn from this girl, so many celebrations!

Most of the week was spent catching up with Will where possible, finishing up the blog & getting started on various forms etc. for the new business, but I don’t want to bore you, so I’ll skip straight to the next little adventure. Guy Cooking Dinner! I know, who would’ve thought I’d know how to use an oven after 7 months.... I made a dish I’d favoured when back home, a simple oven bake, with veggies & wedges, Rosemary, apples etc. The meat of choice, on this occassion was Boerwurs, the famed snake coiled like, South African sausage. Unfortunately, due to the skin of the Boerwurs, this didn’t taste as great as the Sanga’s back home which absorb the juices from the vegies & apples as it cooks, but it was still pretty decent. But dessert seemingly rocked the Farrell’s world, with fruit, Cointreau, whipped cream, brown sugar and an open fire.... who wouldn’t be excited. Too bad these girls had obviously spoiled their appetites earlier & only managed to get through a few pieces! Hopefully, they weren’t lying, or my self confidence in the kitchen would be shattered!

Friday Night was the night of Tam’s party, Will & Storm came along to join in on the madness, which ended up being shut down due to noise complaints from the neighbours. Lloyd donned me with a pair of oven gloves attached to the shoulders of my shirt, assuring me it was all the rage in SA. Storm had let the Led out, which is basically her alter ego after one glass of wine has passed her lips! Steve was in fine form, although bailed early in order to prepare himself for the drive up the West Coast the folowing day to Elaandsbaai, whilst I tore up the dance floor and got acquainted with some more of Tam’s mates. The funniest of which was Dylan, a mate of Tam’s from uni, whom whilst I was cleaning up kept repeating he’d help me, although he just stood and watched me pack the dishwasher and clean up bottles. Once it was over, he had a shot of JD ready for me, which was extremely hosptiable, he had one himself following and the night continued. The downside of all this I realised in the morning was that he had been so drunk & I’d been focused on cleaning up, I hadn’t realised we took a shot out of Amber’s cup, being the cup used to scoop Dog Food into Amber’s (The cross Retriever/Lab’s) bowl! Tam had been in fine form this evening as she was constantly reminded the rest of the weekend, why is always the drunk people who protest to their state of mind? haha. Was a fun night & I was ready for the promise of traditional Afrikaans buffet by the sea the next day & a beautiful beachside weekend away!

(Storm & Sianne)
(Lloyd & Co, Fashion extraordinaire)
(Stylin SA style)
(One of the blondes in the Farrell house)
(Happy couple, Steve & Boks)
(Happy Couple #2, GP & Tam)

Elaandsbaai getaway

Lunch was at Muisboskerm, apparently a famous little place just near where we were staying, that was amazing, right on the water, this little makeshift open air restaurant, with the BBQ pits in the middle of the restaurant & a bamboo bar at one end was so quaint & unique, it made for a perfect start to a weekend away. Steve was excited, all you can eat, meant he was surely going to put the owner out of business! Unfortunately, the wind was up, which meant we couldn’t eat on the seashore restaurant outlook. But a great time was had, partly due to the barman’s inept maths skills, 12 x 20 = 140 right? Poor bloke! Steve & Justin were the only ones game enough to go for a swim out the front of the restaurant, which drew quite a crowd due to the overhead sized shorebreak and the fact that the water was a simmeringly warm 14-15c with a 30km/h wind blowing. No drownings and plenty of entertainment, thanks boys!

The 2 buildings of the surf shack were awesome, somehow we scored a room, it pays to know the organiser... Thanks Tam, meanwhile the others were spread out in little nooks and crannies in both houses. The main house had a deck upstairs, which we promptly shifted all the couches up to & a ladder to the flat roof which provided a great vantage point to the whole bay! We’d stocked up on booze & enough food to feed an army, with the half oil drum Braai (BBQ for those back home) setup, the national collegiate drink of Cane & Creme Soda ensured that the night was going to be a boomer as I boarded the “Cane Train”! I was quite dissapointed that few were brave enough to get on board with me & I became to comfortable with the Cane, which would bite me on the bottom the following week!

This night had everything, Steve’s Karaoke attempts whilst singing along, a camel coat hanger that came out of one of the rooms. I have no idea it’s purpose, but it provided some great entertainment! A nice big fry up of various meats on the grill, a Saffa being seen in an All Blacks rugby jersey (seriously, never would’ve guessed I’d see that) & the all important cake fight! Only a shame we had to clean up all the carnage the following morning, cake stained wooden verandah, FUN!

The surf in the morning was great, though all I had to keep me warm, aside from a 2nd skin which Steve leant me was a vintage fluoro Springsuit I scored off llyod. Now I’m not sure if it’s something he keeps to give foreigners or mates he doesn’t like, but I got into it anyway, with a nice hole on the backside roughly the size of my palm & another seemingly matching hole under the armpit, made the retaining and warming of water effects employed by the wetsuit, severely disabled. Nevertheless, determined to show off my but cheek & get in the water for fear of having my nation be harassed, I went for a surf! For the first time in roughly a year I guess..... Sad really. There was a nice Reef Break, although the size wasn’t big enough to really satisfy the real surfers in the line up, or maybe it was the sight of bare but, that scared them off, but we had the break to ourselves with Pavs, Tam, Steve, Justin & I hitting a few waves. Tam was a little slowing in getting out & unfortunately didn’t catch a wave, but it was awesome to have her out in the water! For fear of permanently losing my manhood from frostbite & the change in wind killing the swell we headed back in to pack up, get ready and head back to CPT.

So I don’t miss anyone out, thanks to all those mentioned above (the dirty dozen) for making it a great weekend, plus, JP & Vikki (best wishes for the wedding next year kids), Sue (Smoker!), Carrie (Hope you had fun on your shopping trip in London), Mary (loves the camel), James (thanks for the cake!), Bokkes (nice paddling & shame I don’t have the incriminating photo of u & steve) & last but not least the local blokes selling crayfish door to door!

Vegas

Well what can you say, other than watch all the Vegas movies.... Most recently, the Hangover etc. & aside from certain ridiculous notions, everything is possible & can happen in Vegas. Upon arrival, I had perfected my accent, my story & fluttering my eyelids in order to get us a free upgrade as I wasn’t sharing a bed with Stoner. A room, was enough.... no offence mate. To my surprise, there was no argument, conditions of booking BS or anything, I just had to change towers and not have a couch.... Done! So free upgrade with all the package spa, bar tab & entry perks still applying, but only for one person. So we were in business! I had purchased some liquid gold to help us get moving on our first night in the city started by the mob some 50 years before.....

They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, so on that note, I’ll say we experienced the clubs, saw entourages rolling through the Jet club in the Mirage, saw dealers and bartenders dressed in the bunny outfits in The Palms Trademarked Playboy Bar. We went up to the bar, which sits atop one of The Palms Hotel Towers, with an amazing view over the strip! We were heading home at a semi reasonable hour of 3.30am, however, this was not acceptable in Stoner’s books. “This isn’t how you do Vegas, we aren’t going home now!” Strolling in at 8am, was, apparently acceptable! A few hours of sleep out of necessity & we were rolling for day 2.

The Pool at The Palms, was quite a gorgeous and elaborate setup, with bungalows for hire, music, seats in the water, waitered service poolside & a private VIP pool section upstairs only open for invitees on a Friday (I think). Shame we weren’t there to see it in full swing, but we had fun, used up the free meal and drink allowance and indulged in the Bloody Mary’s! If that doesn’t wake you up, nothing will.... We met some new friends, from the Netherlands, the States & England and made plans to meet up with them later that evening for drinks & the rooftop bar of the Palms. The second night was quieter than the first, however I got in at some ungodly hour, around 4.30 or 5 am, Stoner was passed out as he had retired early due to his drive back the next day. Up at 6.30am, it was time to catch a plane back to NYC en route to Cape Town!

Was unfortunate to say goodbye to Stoner, as we’d had an absolute ball down the West Coast and just hanging out! Hopefully we catch up more, then we had in the past! When you moving back to Oz champion.... no pressure! Big thanks for the lift down the West Coast, had a blast!

There are no photos for a few reasons, but mostly due to the fact that my camera at night is shocking and we weren't out much during the day!

NYC Stopover

I was absolutely knackered when I landed back in NYC, having not had much sleep, thank god I didn’t have to think about where I was going, heading somewhere familiar to crash on Eva’s couch back in Brooklyn, the only downside was that it took 2 hours to get there.

Since I’d been there last Marta had been promoted to run a fashion line at work, Jim’s book had made it to no.2 on the NYC bestsellers list, with a client of his making the top 100 that week as well, Bette had come back from LA with some interest in several of her film projects from a number of studios, along with a t-shirt she STOLE! (Just kidding!) So the apartment was buzzing, people were great, as per usual and a great dinner out was had! Thanks Eva and co, once again for the hospitality!

Cape Town - Weekend 1

After a fairly arduous flight, I arrived in Cape Town to see Tammy, hoping there would be no awkwardness as we met back up. Thankfully there was none! Cape Town had become something of a second home, regardless of this trip over the past few years, with one of my best mates, in Will, being based there & having had fun all over the country, mostly along the coast on 2 prior occassions! So it was nice to be somewhere familiar, having somewhere where i wasn’t going to live out of a pack & somewhere that I felt comfortable to finish up the trip! This was my last stop & I was going to make the most of it!

Since I’d left in March, Will & Storm had their first baby, a gorgeous, beer obsessed 6 month old boy named Harry Edward Dutton. So the first night I was super keen, despite jet lag to head over to meet the newest edition to the Dutton clan & to see Will & Storm, the proud parents. Unfortunately to my dissapointment there was no Braai, but Storm had cooked a traditional dish to perfection, of which I can’t remember the name! I helped bath the little tucker, helped keep him away from the beer bottles he kept grabbing at & must say I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the latest edition!

Off to Peddlers to catch up with Steve Farrell (big blonde girly looking bloke from the Africa trip) to have a beer & meet, or rather be interrogated by two of Steve’s oldest mates whom I would see a lot of in the coming weeks, Justin & James “The Killer Prawn”. They were great blokes, but quite a motley crew.

Tam competed in a running race on Saturday morning, whilst I got prepared for the onslaught of abuse from a group of Saffa’s heading to the Farrell’s house that morning to watch the Boks play the All Blacks. I was very lucky indeed that the week prior the Wallabies had beaten the Boks, allowing me to have a nice little Ace in the hole should I get slandered too much! Thankfully the Saffa’s won, as Steve is quite involved with any game of Rugby, but when it’s close at the end, well it reminds me of mum a few years ago, jumping up and down on the couch, screaming at the tv & getting noticeably older with every passing minute from stress and a heart rate somewhere in the 180BPM range.... This was later to be followed up with a letter to the head of the IRB concerning the unfair treatment of the Boks when it comes to suspendable infringements... Steve you’re a classic mate. Mary & Lloyd were the latest additions to the crew that morning, both of whom would be around almost permanently during my stay & were great entertainment value!

The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet, as I got to know Tam’s mum, Robbie a little better, fumble my way around Cape Town to get reacquainted, figure out how to drive on the left hand side of the road once more & catching up with Bokke, Steve’s better half, from the Africa trip. We did head out to a bar, so for any people who want proof of South Africans athletic ability, or lack thereof & confidence levels going up when on the booze, head to Oblivion to see the locals try to Pole Dance after 11pm when they clear the tables! Classic!

So far all good! Looking forward to the 1st week in CPT!

Anacortes

Anacortes is about an hour or so North of Seattle, close to the Canadian border and is the gateway to the famous San Juan Islands. This area is absolutely stunning & is what I pictured Alaska to be like, albeit warmer. There are freshwater lakes, surrounded by forest lands, nice jumping rocks, mountain bike trails and houses that are seemingly stranded in the bush, although, they have a view out to the ocean. Coastline National parks, fishing village & therefore some wicked seafood & gravel pits to shoot shot gun shells at.... I mean, what else could anyone want?!

On the way up to Anacortes, Stoner & I caught up with his brother Keith, whom I hadn’t seen in 8 years or so, since then he’d grown about a foot or so! Crazy. He was off to burning man & moving into to his new place just near the University of Washington, so it was a quick beer, farewell to the Seattle crew and Keith and we were on our way.

We’d picked up some Oysters at the Fish markets & the plan was a BBQ at stoner’s mate Dave’s place up in the hills, in the forest, with a gorgeous view over the water and the power station! Haha. But first we were going on a mountain bike through the forest to Whistle Lake to go Kloofing and swimming in a freshwater lake. After almost losing it on the mountain bike a few times & fearing i’d broken Wayne’s (Stoner’s dad’s) Mountain bike, we’d made it to the first jump into the water at about 6 metres. To make sure the yanks weren’t having me on with a sick joke, I went last on the jumps. The second jump on the other side of the lake was around 8-10m, with the last jump being undertaken having different platforms.... the lowest being around 15m and the highest being about 22m. Nick and Dave went off 20m, not game enough to jump over the tree at the 22m platform, despite being haggled by these drinking teenagers from out of town... I retreated to about 17m and made my descent...safely, thank god. Almost wet myself, whilst i was hesitating to jump, but can’t be the only one left up the top now can I? The fact that the water was warmer and fresher then I could’ve imagined, made the whole experience that much better!

After conquering fears, being harassed by little kids and doing the first real bit of exercise since I’d left NYC, I was huffing and puffing and ready for a beer and some food. Anyone who knows me, knows that seafood really isn’t my forte, but this stuff was fresh and I was being pressured into it by 3 yanks (Shwamy had joined the party) and one of whom was a fisherman. So, we had fresh crab, fresh salmon, oysters, prawns & chicken. We ate like kings and i learned a way to do oysters on the BBQ that anyone would love! Had a great night chilling with the boys before we headed back to Stoner’s place. Thanks to Dave for his hospitality & Shwamy for the food and entertainment! See you in oz lads!

Shooting a shotgun isn’t as easy as they make it in the movies, as it turns out the older shot gun’s like the antique we were using, can literally throw your shoulder out of whack, if not out of your socket. I had to throw in the towel before i’d even reached a dozen shots at the gravel pit....leaving Nick to polish off the rest of the rounds.

Whilst we’d been at the gun shop (I had lost my voice almost at this stage), a number of surprises took place. I was asked if Australian’s were communists due to the gun buy back plan some years ago.... Trying not to offend the bloke I explained that we don’t really feel the need to carry a gun in this country as it’s not necessary. The next funny situation was the fact that the customer before us had bought Tumblers, which are designed to have a small entry and a massive exit, “tumbling” through the body! When we went up for the 12 Gauge Shot Gun Ammo, the first question was “Humans or Birds?” Welcome to the North West!

After an awesome home cooked meal and talking way too much with Charlene (Stoner’s mum) about my trip, we were packed, off for a quick kip before hitting the long road to San Fran. Which we were planning to do in one sitting from around 1am!

San Francisco

My first driving experience in the states started off well, I was on the right side of the road & was on my way down the fabled West Coast! With a Partner in crime, local knowledge and people to see along the way, it was sure to be an awesome trip! We had a swim in a big lake just after we entered into Cali & we illegally smuggled in some fresh produce from Washington State.... Oranges, Apples (I can’t actually remember)but Stoner was quite concerned about covering this up, I though it was pretty funny. Why couldn’t we have done that with the Cane Toads? Tell me why! I shouldn’t complain, all you need is a pitching wedge to send them home!

Our first stop was in San Fran to catch up with Ms. Karina Campat, Joel’s (Mate from Queescliff) girlfriend, with 2 couches available and awesome flatmates we were made most welcome! Not only did we have awesome group of hostesses, Mr Nicholas James Muldoon was in town at the same time, so our first night out (somewhere in a trendy area) next to an awesome hotdog place, was the first point of call. I’d missed the big kid! Got to meet some colleagues of his & proceed to hit up the town ready to paint it black! NJM headed home, but had been in great form, especially since he’d been in hospital the weekend prior!

Indoor Rock Climbing and Biking seem to be the two biggest growing sports in San Fran, with Bikesters being a new movement & Somehow it seems to flow into Rock Climbing. Stoner & I headed into a big centre for a session. I think I might be getting arthritis as muscle pain didn’t get me, but clinging tightly onto the grips made the tendons and ligaments fingers in my hand so weak that I was pathetic on the walls! Meanwhile Stoner, Jetta (one of the flatmates) & her friend Anne all looked like Monkey’s!

After some wicked Sushi & Sake, we headed to the waterfront for some more drinks. I don’t think the bartender had sat the RSA as those drinks were so incredibly potent. Expensive, but you got your money’s worth. As Nick said, when he asked simply for a splash of tonic in our G&T’s, that’s all we got, Gin & a minimum amount of tonic! We had an awesome crew, including a government mini van driving us around (Thanks Laura!) although, I must say, as a health and safety message..... Make sure all seats, even empty ones in front, are not folded down & you are wearing a seatbelt! Especially when playing corners & the car comes to a halt without you preparing & you fly head first through the cabin into the front seat (luckily not the dash or out the windscreen!). That freaked me out...Big Time!

Since corners was no longer entertaining, DJ stoner cranked the tunes and proceeded to read the news out to random passersby, offering the newspaper when he’d finished with a particular section! What a fun night, was a shame we had people to go and places to see.

I’d been to San Fran before, so the touristy things had been Done & Done, hence the whole time was spent hanging with mates and generally just enjoying myself! Big up to our hosts, particularly Karina & Jetta who we hung out with and annoyed the most of the room mates & to Laura for driving us around! Karina, see you in Sydney soon madame! Joely, got a great girl there!

SoCal & Claremont

We did the drive down the 1, along the West Coast of California, passing Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur, seeing some massive Elephant Seals & the beautiful coastline all the way down. Which was only ruined by the entrance into Greater LA, when the traffic kicked in! We cut LA across to Claremont, to catch up with Sienna a cool chick from Washington State I’d met in Hamburg. Stoner headed on to San Diego (as he was also moving down from Anacortes to San Diego) & I had scored a lift down the following day with Sienna. So was great to catch up with her as she’d just started uni & was a fun chick to hang out with, with a massive smile!  Found out that Doubletree hotels (subsidiary of the Hiltons) give you choc chip cookies when you check in, awesome! Sienna all the best with the studies, no doubt you’ll kill it and look forward to seeing you in Oz one day!

San Diego

Made it to San Diego, just in time for Friday Night Football! We grabbed Dave Chen, his lovely fiancée Leslie & headed to the Tailgate party before the game in the parking lot of the Chargers home ground. I am trying to figure out for the life of me why we don’t have something similar back home. You can drink, have a BBQ & music with your mates out the back of your pickups or take an outdoor setting, get to the game early, beat the traffic and suck back on your favourite ale and eat some decent food before having to suffer through the fast food inside! Sounds like an awesome idea to me!

Now some years ago, Stoner came to Sydney with a crew of Rugby lads from his College team at UCSD (University of California, San Diego) included in those, were Dave Chen, who was hosting me and who is coming back after Christmas for Round 2! Along with the crew was also Mark Gleed, who has an identical twin in Todd Gleed. It freaked me out, but we tailgated with him, his g/f Tammy & a few others we met. Between 6 of us a case of beer disappeared in 25 minutes before the game! Needless to say, we were all pretty loosened up for the game, add more beers inside, a massive packet of peanuts and the spectacle of the NFL (even in pre-season) & a great night was had!

The rest of the time in San Diego was spent hanging out with the San Diego crew as mentioned above, heading to the beach, trying to surf & just generally hanging with mates. I did manage to cause quite a bit of laughter when I blocked a toilet in San Diego (Sorry Todd & Tammy), which was made even worse by the fact that they didn’t have a plunger and had to borrow the next door neighbours. Stoner & Todd were in hysterics! I saw the humour in it once my cheeks returned to a normal skin colour, from Rouge. There was also the hilarious wheelbarrow lap at one of the brewery restaurants in San Diego after Dave lost pool to Stoner and I, resulting in a lap around the pool table. Somehow we weren’t kicked out, gotta love the US’s bartenders & security staff!

Dave & Leslie are coming to Sydney in December after Xmas, can’t wait to have them around, should be awesome. It will soon be Time for me to repay the favour, as they had put me up in San Diego. See you guy’s soon! San Diego had been great, chilled out, slower paced, good weather and fun in the sun! It was now time for the final farewell to the US with 2 nights in Las Vegas, the City of Sin before heading to NYC en route to Capetown, my final stop!

I had thought i’d be in Vegas on my lonesome and had booked a Junior Suite at the Palms to finish in style! With Vegas on sale at the moment, it sounds more impressive than it actually is! Stoner drove me to the airport, where I thought we were going to have an emotional goodbye.... instead, this is what I received: “You can’t do Vegas by yourself. Yes I’m hungover, Yes I should be looking for jobs, but this just isn’t allowed...... i’ll be there in 5 hours, now, get out of the car!” Now from my vague memory of this day, this is what was said, although Nick may argue this point.

So I had a partner in crime & was ready to rock Vegas, or rather, ready for Vegas to rock me!