US/Canada July - September 2015

[irv]

Moraine Lake is actually more beautiful than Lake Louise IMHO, so many tourists don't know about it, so I'm pleased you made it.
At lake Louise Did you hike up to the tea house by any chance?

Interesting hike when you walk across the rubble and hear the water running underneath

 

[irv]

So to the right of the Aspen lodge is the High Country Inn ( I can't see it in the photo above though) to the left of the Aspen lodge is a new Hotel being constructed called The Moose.

Mount Royal Hotel

 

[irv]

Day 5 (cont.)


On getting on the bus to leave the resort, we were all given a book on the Canadian Rockies, full of fantastic pictures. A nice touch from the tour company.

Off we headed to Moraine Lake, the place that more than anything made we want to visit the Rockies. We only had 15 minutes at the top of the rock pile, enough time to get some photos, not enough time to do any exploring.

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Next stop was Lake Louise, more time here to have a bit of a walk around.

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Checked in to the dated but comfortable hotel, bit of dinner at the small village, then a quiet night.

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We stayed at The Lake Louise Inn in 2011, Aussie girl behind the counter gave us some free breakfast vouchers and a room upgrade, but a bit long to remember if were actually "enhanced"

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 6 Lake Louise - Vancouver

Day 6was going to be a long drive back to Vancouver. 1st stop was at 3 Valley Gap, where we had an hour or so at a museum/collection of cars, trains other vehicles and other buildings that had been brought by the owners as towns in the area had been closed down.





Stopped at lunch at a Native Indian run resort, another short stop at Hope, an eye opening drive along East Hastings Street, then finally to our arrival point. A few quick good byes, then found myself once again checking in with the gorgeous receptionist at the Barclay Hotel.

It was a long weekend in Canada, fireworks were planned for the evening, so I got myself down to English Bay and settled in for a few hours. Nice chat with a couple from Phoenix, who like others I spoke to on my travels were intrigued with the concept of long service leave.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 7 Vancouver

Checked out from the hotel, asked to hold my bags, no problem. However, was told to leave it in the foyer, wasn't entirely at ease with this, as it had my laptop in there. Assured would be okay, thought its only clothes and a laptop if the worst happens, and off i went.

Hired a bike and set out around Stanley Park. Stopped at the totems, then had to pay a visit to what Bradman described as the most picturesque cricket ground in the world.



Continued around the dedicated cycle path, stops here and there for photos and taking in the scenery.



Rode around to English Bay, then back to drop off the bike. Walked along the waterfront, watched the Sea Planes for a while, then headed down to Gas Town.



Bit of lunch at a forgettable fast food place, then watched a bit of the Mardi Gras.



Soon enough time to head back to the hotel to grab a cab and get to the Amtrak Station for the ride back to Seattle. Happy days, bag was still there, had to get the cab from the back of the hotel as the Mardi Gras was routed along Robson Street, which the hotel was on. Uneventful trip on the train, seated next to one of the 4 stereotypical male Seattle residents

1. Hipster
2. Computer/Gamer Geek
3. Mentally disturbed homeless person
4. Middle aged, denim wearing, salt and pepper bearded, rain jacket wearing bloke

I sat next to number 4.

Got in to Seattle around 9 o'clock, quick cab ride to The Ace, shower, bed.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 8 Seattle

Headed down to Pike Place Market, where I grabbed a Piroshky and an Apricot Danish for breakfast, before jumping on a bus to head to the Museum of Flight. Arrived about 15 minutes before it was due to open, but still able to wander around the outside exhibits. Took my time having a look at the inside and outside of the museum, added bonus was the control tower where you can listen in ion the active runway adjacent to the museum.



Back on the bus to Belltown, it of an altercation on the bus between a couple of locals relating to the opening and closing of the bus windows.



Headed up to the Seattle Center where I used the Seattle Pass to get up to the top of the Sky Tower, Had to wait about half an hour, then another wait as we went through the process of a security check, then the obligatory photo rip off.

After the Sky Tower headed back to the hotel to do some washing, then wen to The Cyclops cafe next to the hotel and had some mexican and a couple of Texas Mules.

Time to then again head to the Sky Tower, where I had booked a ticket for a sunset time frame at the top. With the City Pass, was able to get two entrances to the Sky Tower. Mt Ranier showed herself, which having listened to locals and tour guides that I had listened to wasn't an always guaranteed event.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 9 Seattle

Checked out and waited for my pick up for the tour of the Boeing Factory. Quite informative, however unless you're into planes give it a miss as it's just a factory, very big one at that, with some very nice looking planes, and unfortunately there was no action on any of the runways.





Back to the city, and went up to Seattle Center to use the last of mu city pass entrances at the Pacific Science Center. This centre is outstandingly well done, presented in a way that's informative and would also keep the interest of kids.



No trip to Seattle would be complete without a ride on the monorail, which I did. Ended up at a food hall where I had an ordinary chinese for a late lunch, then continued to explore on foot. Headed down to Pioneer Square, didn't stay long as the amount of homeless and clearly mentally disturbed people was a little unsettling, despite the heavy police presence.



Headed back towards the Seattle Center, another wander through Pike Place, stopped for a coffee, then saw out some time at the Seattle Center. There was a huge gamer convention going on, so a lot of nerdy types around. Can understand their excitement, apparently a $17 million purse for the competition. Who would have thought.

Back to the hotel, grabbed my bags, waited for the shuttle to pick me up and take me to SeaTac for the red eye flight, and my next stop, which I now believe to be one of the best kept secrets in the US.

 

[kermatu]

I'm enjoying this - thanks. Been to a few of these places, but didn't get to see much of Canada (first time round).

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 10 Milwaukee

Had selected a window seat when I booked the Alaskan flight in the hope that i'd be able to get some sleep. (didn't work), and saw that my luck with spare seats had run out. A couple had already parked themselves in the middle and aisle seats, and when I moved in to my seat, the husband in the aisle vanished to another aisle seat a row back from his wife. I guess they hoped I would be a no show and they would get a row between the 2 of them.

As the plane was taxiing, I noticed a concerning development. The lady in the aisle had slipped her shoes off, and then tucked her legs half under herself. Reading the play, there was no way I was going to put up with feet being anywhere near my vicinity, so against all FAA rules, I grabbed my backpack from under the seat in front of me, and put it in the middle seat, leaving her in no doubt the feet were not going to be entertained.

I landed at O'Hare at about 6.10am, and knew that a coach would leave to Milwaukee at 6.45. I had booked the 8.45, as I knew the connection would be tight. Missed the 6.45 by about 5 minutes, which meant a 2 hour wait in the coach terminal. Fortunately wifi was available, as I fought off the desire to sleep. Nodded off for about 10 minutes on the coach, and after about an hour we started to reach the outer limits of Milwaukee.

Coming in from the south, my thoughts were what a dump. Nothing much changed my perception as we continued in to the Amtrak station, jumped in a cab, and then up to the Park East Hotel. A little more expensive than the $150 I aimed for, a not overly friendly receptionist, however a room was available, and I was able to check in at 10.30am.

Had a shower, and out I set, firstly to the waterfront, where my perceptions soon started to change. Some snaps, bit of a look around, then headed to downtown. A bit of exploring, impressed by the architecture of the city, then headed to the Riverwalk.



A leisurely stroll down both sides, a reminder of my childhood TV viewing, then a relaxing late lunch on the river. Ordered the Milwaukee staple of cheese curds, but unfortunately the restaurant had none available.



Headed back towards the hotel, found myself once again at the top of Juneau Park and the War Museum.



i had planned to go to the Harley Davidson Museum, however seemed a bit of a mission to get there, and also in a not so great part of town, so instead strolled along the waterfront for a few hours, Quite relaxing and pleasant in the late afternoon, plenty of boats out on the water, gentle breeze, was perfect. Headed back to the hotel, bit of TV, then caught up on some sleep.

 

[love_the_life]

Didn't sound like a great flight though :shock:

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Didn't sound like a great flight though :shock:

Had a seat, had my ipod, and it landed, all good.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 11 Wisconsin State Fair

To the reason I was in Milwaukee. I had always wanted to go to a state fair, having seen them on food shows and the like over the years, and the Wisconsin one fit best with plans. The fair grounds were an easy local bus trip to the fair grounds in West Allis, a suburb in Milwaukee. All in all the fair was a good combination, with Wisconsin being a farming dairy state, and, Milwaukee a beer city. The fair itself reminded me a lot of Oktoberfest in Munich, with the beer tents set up throughout the grounds.

Had a crack and different foods, toasted cheese and flavoured milk from the dairy tent, deep fried cookie dough, cheese curds, the apparently famous cream puff, different bits and pieces here and there, and ribs and chicken for lunch.





Inside the pavilions, it was a bit squeezy with the hordes, but also with the amount of carts for the large amounts of large people. Having seen 1st hand the obesity epidemic, i made the sage decision to give the following a miss.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 11 (cont)

Continued to wander, sampling different foods and drink, looking at the stalls, farm animals and products etc, etc



Sucker for anything to do with dogs, so couldn't resist the dog show, with the bonus all the dogs involved are rescue dogs




Mid-afternoon it was time to call it quits. There was plenty of people coming in, with the price of admission 2 tinned food items for the homeless. I didn't know about this, and had pre brought my entry ticket for $6 over the internet. I haven't been to the Perth Royal Show for about 30 years, but i'd have no doubt the 2 cans of baked beans, or $6 wouldn't get you in. Went for another walk around sunset, took some photos, and eventually found myself at a small university a couple of blocks from the hotel, where there was a jazz concert going. Settled in for the next few hours, pleasant way to finish a couple of pleasant days in a vastly underrated and pretty much, as far as Aussie tourism, unknown city.
tourism.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 12 - Chicago

Quick cab ride down to the Amtrak Station, and before long was on the train heading to Chicago. Was a beautiful sunny day when I arrived at Union Station, so decided to do the 2km journey to the Travel Lodge on foot. All was fine until I took a turn and found myself approaching an elavated subway stration, where the first fella asked me for some money. 'No mate', kept walking, next fella, same thing, then I noticed another fella approaching at a 45 degree angle. With a back pack on, another bag in toe, and on my own in a new city, some strange things go through your head, and here I thought I was going to get caught in a pincer movement and get rolled. So quickened the pace and fortunately got a favourable light change and raced through to a nicer looking and feeling section of street.

Before long got to the hotel, and asked if I could drop my bags before my room was ready as it was only 10.15am. Oh no sir, we have a room for you, so dropped the bags, couple of photos from the window, and away I went.



Wandered down through Grant Park to the waterfront, Buckingham Fountain, then decided was a bit peckish, so went for a bit of lunch. In Chicago, so had to try the deep dish pizza. Gino's East had a store close to the hotel, so Gino's East it was.

Back along South Michigan Avenue, through Grant Park and then to The Bean. For something so simple. it does attract a lot of interest, and also holds your interest. Over my few days in Chicago, I felt myself drawn to it, getting the different reflections at different times of day.



Back along South Michigan, and then to the Miracle Mile, and across to Navy Pier. Sore neck from looking up all the time, and Navy Pier was the usual tourist trap.



The Cubs were playing a game that afternoon, and although I had no intention of going to the game, I wanted to get up to Wrigley Field to have a look. So on the Subway and up to Wrigley Field, can get a bit of a view of the field from the train station, mingled around outside the stadium, then back to the city proper.

Again when in Chicago, had to try Al's Beef, so a bit of a late afternoon snack, before again heading to the waterfront, and strolling out to Museum Field. Able to get some decent photos of the skyline, and back through Grant Park and to the hotel in the early evening. Had done some miles by this stage, and was a bit foot weary, so another early night.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 13 - Chicago

Caught the bus to South Chicago to visit the Museum of Science and Industry. Arrived before the museum opened , so had a wander and was able to take a few snaps.



Doors opened and I was able to exchange my prepaid voucher for an admittance ticket. Unfortunately for me, today was a corporate family day, so the museum was quite crowded and many more kids for my liking were running around. Despite this, I have to say this is probably the best museum I have ever been to. Cars, planes, trains, a captured U-Boat, human body, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, countless other exhibits and hands on activities. I usually rush through museums and the like, and am lucky if I stay at things for 2 hours, less when the kid quota is higher, however here I happily spent a solid 5 hours.





Added bonus was the ice cream parlour located at the back of the building.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 13 cont.








Finally time to head back to the city, and found myself on a packed bus stuck in a traffic jam, as we got caught in the stream of people leaving Soldier Field after a Bears Family Day. After enduring the bus ride, headed to Cafecito for a Cuban sandwich and coffee. Find yourself in Chicago, get yourself there. I had wanted to head to the top of the Hancock Tower, however it was quite overcast so took the decision to leave it for today, and see how the weather was tomorrow. Walked the streets, taking photos, found myself back at Navy Pier, and before long time for some dinner.



Decided on Deep Dish Pizza, this time at Lou Malnati's, until I was given the news that there would be a longer than 1 hour wait. With people waiting on the sidewalk for their orders, and me liking waiting less than I like kids, pizza was off the menu. Wandered around until I found a pub, and had an ordinary fish dish, Found a latino concert going in Grant Park, so like Milwaukee, settled in for a pleasant couple of hours.

 

[Hvr]

Noel Mugavin you are doing a wonderful TR with your words and photos. I have been to some of these places and you've shown them to me with fresh views.

Thank you and please keep posting about your holiday.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 14 - Chicago


Early morning start, and walked along the foreshore up towards Hancock Tower, ready for my Architecture Boat Tour. Well worth doing, and the lady narrating could speak at the Olympics for the US, non stop for the whole hour and a half, but very, very good and very informative.



Another wander around, a visit to Eataly, then an early lunch at Portillos, which was absolutely packed. I'm not a hot dog person, and usually go out of my way to avoid them, however had to try a chili cheese hotdog here, worth returning to Chicago for.

Although it was overcast, I was leaving Chicago the next morning, so decided to go up to the top of Hancock Tower. Conditions had put most people off, as it wqas very sparse at the observation deck, however was able to get some photos.



More of a wander and found myself at Milton L Oliver III Memorial Park. Not many people would know who this guy was, including me, but reading his simple memorial shows what a hero he was, jumping on a grenade and sacrificing his life to save his mates. All as an extremely young man, no more than 19 if my memory serves me right. Some nice pictures form here, and a shady spot to watch the world go by.



Again found myself at Navy Pier, and having tried a deep dish, had to have a go at a stuffed pizza. Better flavours, but way too doughy.



More wandering throughout the late afternoon, quiet night in a little place playing some blues, then bed ready for an early trip out to O'Hare for my ride to my next stop of .....

 

[VPS]

Great TR especially to some places I haven't been or were anywhere on my radar

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Day 15 - Boston

Arrived at O'Hare with plenty of time to spare, as after checking in bags weren't taken, everyone had to take their bags and line up for the TSA checks. It was only here, after lining up for about 50 minutes were bags taken from passengers.After getting through the TSA, there was still a bit of time before I had to board my Jet Blue flight, so went to Starbucks and ordered an Ice Coffee. Was looking forward to the milky, sugary coffee hit, however what I got was what was ordered, black coffee on ice. To be honest, quite liked it, and wasn't too upset when I tripped myself up the same way later in the trip.Luck was with me again, spare seat next to me on the flight, and before long was viewing the coastline as the plane descended into Logan. Bags didn;t take long, and before I knew it was on the free shuttle to South ST Station in the city. Walked through the city in the general vicinity of where I thought my hotel was, and found myself at Boston Common, so was able to get my bearings fixed. Milner Hotel located in the theatre district, couple of blocks away from the common. Fun fact, one of the 9/11 hijackers stayed at the Milner the night before the hijackings. Quick drop of the bags, stroll through Boston Common, then to the City Centre.



I wanted to get to Sam Lagrassa's for lunch, but unfortunately had closed for the day, so decided on 5 Guys for a burger. I had made a conscious effort to stay away from fast food places as much as possible, as it would be very easy to have it everyday and suffer the consequences of that, however made the call to try Five Guys, and very glad I did. Made to order, crispy bacon, and a very nice vanilla shake.

Continued exploring, until found myself down on the waterfront.



Wandered over to Quincy Markets, strolled around, treated myself to a cannolli, then back to some grass on the waterfront to sit and relax, as well as getting a long range view of the activity in and out of Logan.

Had a sunset Harbour Tour, getting some decent snaps, more of a wander, then back to the hotel. Going through my bags found the dreaded TSA note, however locks and everything else in the bag all where everything was supposed to be.