Author: Andrew Ison

• After committing to a non refundable ticket to the Dallas Arboretum, we awoke to a beautiful gloomy day with a forecast of rain. Doh! • Unperturbed (well, slightly turbed) we headed off. The place was actually a pain in the butt to get in to for people who didn’t read the instructions (guilty). There’s…

• After the dizzying highs of the Eiffel Tower (with a cowboy hat), and the giant shovel, and the duck pond, I was prepared for a mundane day of return travel to Dallas in preparation for the dog show which was kind of the original point in coming to the US. • On the drive…

• Today, we decided to add some French to our holiday with a quick stop at Paris to see the Eiffel Tower. So off we headed to Paris, Texas. I’m pretty sure it’s basically the same thing. • Another quick beagle pat and we were on our way. Practicing our Oui Ouis and our bonjours,…

• The day began with a quick trip up the highway to see what’s cracking in Dallas. Like everywhere thus far, flyovers and concrete highways dominate. And water towers, gotta have water towers. • The activity for the day was the Dallas World Aquarium, a multistory zoo which has this incredible layout made up of…

• After waking up and hunting through the bedding for our tiny pillows, it was time for an actually very nice hotel breakfast and then on the road because we had a very important date with the best museum on the trip – the Dr Pepper museum! • Prior to the museum, an executive decision…

• Another early start, because today was space centre day! Breakfast was fruit loops because I was excited like a little kid so had breakfast to match. Then I continued the cosplay by needing to go wee as soon as we left the hotel, and complaining to nearby adults that Erin was making faces at…

• Despite the luxury and comfort provided by our room full of pillows, we opted for an early start because we had the better part of 6 hours of driving to do. This hotel didn’t provide breakfast anyway (current rating: 5 pillows, 0 bagels), so we figured we’d pull in somewhere once the sun came…

• After a luxuriant 5 pillow sleep, it was time for an air boat ride amongst the bayous of Louisiana. A quick look at the forecast of the day suggested tshirt and shorts would be appropriate. This was a lie. • We left the city, and headed further out into the marsh to where the…

• After waking up at dickety-dick o’clock by the air conditioner rumbling like a Harley (including unnecessary throttle blips), we figured there was no point going back to sleep anyway because we felt so gross on the 3rd world standard linen. In the optimistic hope that we avoid an incurable skin condition, we showered several…

• After an early night brought on by some unknown illness, a few choice drugs from the local US distributor (definitely legal I am assured by the pharmacist from Craigslist who met me in the carpark for a cash only sale) had me back to full functionality and ready to carry on being a tourist!…

One of the many thousands of people I’ve walked past who have been coughing, spluttering, and sneezing without covering their mouth have managed to stick a germ in me and I’m crook as. Fingers crossed it’s a 24 hour thing, cause we’ve got more travel to do yet! This update is gonna be short, cause…

• Leaving the hotel on the northern side of Cincinnati, we headed towards the city and visited the Cincinnati Zoo. Erin was a huge fan. They had a couple of elephants, some manatee (oh the huge manatee!), some hippos, various forms of monkeys, and a little train that I wasn’t allowed to go on. They…

• We left Washington, PA and headed further west towards Cincinnati, OH. Due to the way the state borders are drawn, this means we went from Pennsylvania, to West Virginia, to Ohio in the space of an hour or so. We’re practically in Europe at this point, crossing borders every 5 minutes. • On the…

• Ticked another bit of American cuisine off the list – Applebee’s! Actually really good, we had festive chicken and some tenders and it was all really good. Also Dr Pepper on tap. My favourite part of this country so far tbh. • We survived the night on the worst bed I have ever slept…

• We started the day with a return trip to the Australian Consulate where there was great success – an emergency replacement passport! Hooray, now we can both go home instead of one us having to live in America forever. • Then we said goodbye to our local train station – Grand Central. It was…

• With the sun shining and the temperature low (52°F! Sorry, not sure what that is in Celcius anymore I am too American) we opted to spend our last full day in Manhattan at Central Park. It was within walking distance of our hotel so off we walked! • You can always tell when you’re…

• Rain was forecast for all day, so we opted for indoor adventures today. • Started the day with another subway trip, this one a lot less exciting then the last couple likely due to it being a little early for the more unique characters. The subway definitely makes getting around quick and easy, with…

• Today we spent a decent amount of time organising an emergency replacement passport, because someone (who I shall not name because she already feels bad enough about it) left their passport wallet (including a rather substantial amount of cash, which I am definitely not bitter and twisted about) at the hotel we stayed at.…

• Started the day with a cheery visit to the Arlington Cemetery. It’s a beautiful location, but incredibly sad at how many lives have been lost and that’s just the people on one side of the fight. So many young dudes who barely made a start in their life. The saddest part, IMO, is that…

From Rocky training on stairs to Jacob ploughing, today took us from Philidelphia to Intercourse (not a typo).