There’s an old and very well known saying (thanks to Ron Burgundy who just couldn’t get it right!): “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Well right now in the USA the thing to do is really anything to do with fall harvest or Halloween. America and its people are very seasonal and will take any excuse to decorate their houses, yards or to hang wreaths anywhere they can.
So naturally, pumpkins are all around and not just as decorations; they are being implemented into recipes, drinks, clothing and jewelery. That’s why I have set myself a mission to try every consumable pumpkin product I can.
As I write this, I sip on my very first pumpkin latte from Starbucks and I really like it. It’s similar to a cinnamon latte but I guess they use pumpkin spice sprinkle instead of cinnamon.
Pumpkin beer, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin mousse, pumpkin porridge, cookies, crepes, waffles and smoothies are among the things I plan to try.
Another hectic week has all but passed me by. I returned home on Monday to fulfill a work commitment at Atlanta's MedTrade, (leaving Will and Baxter alone in Arkansas) and tomorrow I will spend the majority of my day in various airports, awaiting the connecting flights that will eventually take me back to Little Rock, Arkansas. This weekend will be the final breadth of our month long journey and honestly, it has not come soon enough!
I'm feeling utterly exhausted, listening to Michael Buble's Home and thinking that travel can become somewhat of a deception. It truly sounds enticing, glamorous even; but it's definitely not all champagne, limos, 5 star hotels, adventure and excitement. The reality is that simply driving, sitting in the passenger’s seat, or flying can be exhausting, and even if excitement is present - it's that very excitement that makes you weary by the end of the day. It's a strange phenomenon that the human brain can only take so much excitement before it turns into irrational irritation or utter exhaustion.
I know that I am blessed and I am eternally grateful for the sights I've seen, people and opportunities I've encountered and experiences I've had; but honestly, being out on the open road or jet setting is hard, frustrating business!
Some of the major things that make travelling so frustrating are:
Airport security. I have to mention them first because, let's face it, none of us can stand them. They are probably the kids that got pushed around in school, or the adults that get pushed around at home: and desperately need to assert their authority in some way. These airport security officers are often unreasonable, pushy and just plain mean. (Can you tell I'm not looking forward to our encounter tomorrow?)
Another frustration is modern technology that we have come to rely upon like oxygen, in order to get by! A faulty GPS that can get you lost, or a mobile phone with a dying battery that can lead to all sorts of grief!
Next on the frustration meter are the hotels; as annoying as it is when you can't even a 3 star hotel, what's worse are those hotels claiming to be star rated, but look as if they are ran by the caravan-park association of No Standardsville. There's nothing worse than stained towels or dirty bed sheets! Those horrible goose bumps that rise and the immediate discomfort that spreads from the pit of your stomach to the roots of your hair! I would (and have) sooner sleep in my car than a dirty hotel!
The final thing I find extremely frustrating about travelling, are the unhelpful people in service jobs! Universal dictionaries define service as the act of helping or working for somebody - yet, more often than not, there is an attitude from these people who are (willingly) employed in the industry! This attitude pushes me to breaking point when I am either hungry, lost, feeling unwell, simply exhausted (or all of the above!) and just need some help from a decent human being that understands.
I've had moments where I've literally wanted to stomp my feet and cry because of the sheer number of events that have consecutively gone wrong! Sure, you might think the rewards of travel are greater than the off chance of incurring a problem or two; but really, that is being naiive. When you have been en-route from place and sight to place and sight for two or more weeks: your weariness, sleep deprivation and intolerance all set in, until you no longer care for the mountains, wildlife, cuisine or any form of sightseeing. That's usually when I find myself envisioning my own bed, or a home cooked meal, until a beckoning melody of home begins play louder and louder in my head with every gas station I stop at, or every airport I am cursed with.
It's interesting (and Michael Buble' will concur): no matter your age, everyone sets out on a trip all fresh faced and wide eyed - but soon yearn for home like nothing they've ever craved before.
For some reason, ever since I visited the Frontier in Abilene, I've felt a little homesick. Maybe its the history and pride of Texas that has made me feel proud to be Australian and it has once again hit me that I've been away from home for an entire YEAR!
Since I'm married to the world's best person, he took it upon himself to find me an Australian dinner; but when he couldn't, he reverted to the next best thing... Dallas has a very large Russian population, so tonight Will has given me a very "homey" one here in Texas. We visited a deli that has the largest variety of international food anywhere in the city. The Eastern European section here is bursting with my Russian favorites including homemade meals that taste every bit as good as mama’s!
After stocking up with traditional pastries, salads, juices and candies, I passed away the evening watching vintage Russian cartoons and sipping kvac. Ironically, these traditional Russian things remind me of Brisbane Aus and our old backyard gazebo, palm trees and pool! So in a way, it sort of is Australian food.
It seems strange that here in the heart of west Texas, home of America’s cowboy, I’m enjoying a Russian banquet! And it’s funny to think that my heritage, multi-linguistics and cultural diversity are today some my most prized assets, yet these things about me gave me such a complex growing up. I now often tell Will that I plan to raise our children the same way my parents raised me: by forcing them to attend Russian school, or ignoring them until they speak to me in Russian! Got to be cruel to be kind and I see that now - so thanks mum and dad! xo
The city of Dallas is smaller than I expected it would be. Especially seeing as it's sort of the shopping/ culture capital of North Western Texas and the place that folks from surrounding localities drive to for their major shopping needs.
On this trip I am staying in and just relaxing; spending some much needed time with Baxter while he gets some exercise, plus recharging my batteries for this upcoming weekend of fun (in Arkansas). I'm OK with missing out on a few days of tourism since last time I visited Dallas, I explored the city and visited one of its most famous landmarks: the 6th Floor Museum - which is the actual preserved building and room from whence President JFK was infamously assassinated in the street inside of his escort vehicle. It's eerie to look out of that window on the 6th floor, down to the street where a white X still marks the exact spot that the President happened to be, when he met his fate. Today, there is a monument to him down on that street, as well as a cafe/ gift shop that sells all sorts of memorabilia in his honor.
Another destination from my last trip was the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science; which is aimed toward children; but I did enjoy its IMAX theatre, where I watched a documentary on ancient Egypt, and its "Hall of Texas Mammals" - which perplexingly contained birds and reptiles as well?! (Just a suggestion, but maybe they should rename it: Hall of Texas' Native Animals.) Photos coming soon!
Although it was incredible to be up-close and personal with real animals, to see just how HUGE some of them really are and to be able to touch some of their fur - it did make me a little sad that they were all killed and stuffed just for this reason.
Will and I left Synder on Monday, almost as soon as I'd finished my blog entry about it, and drove to Abilene where we spent the night. We set off again (for Dallas) shortly after breakfast on Tuesday morning; but not before I'd convinced Will to stop at Frontier Texas: an incredibly high-tech exhibit depicting the early history of Texas.
I learnt a lot of valuable information, but more importantly I left truly wowed by this one-of-a-kind virtual tour; where surround-sound and motion-activated plasma screen tour guides followed me from room to room and told me "their stories" from the past. It was neat to be able to touch genuine Indian artifacts, buffalo furs and skins, ancient leather and other relics; and so easy to retain information through this new form of exhibition.
Every side is represented; from Texas's native Indian colonies and early European settlement to the devastating conflicts and consequences this merged lifestyle caused both sides to incur. Another group to suffer almost to the brink of extinction was the buffalo; upon whom the Indians almost solely relied upon for their longevity. Once the buffalo were eradicated - it wasn't long before the Indian way of life tragically followed suit.
I recommend this Frontier experience in Abilene to anyone wishing to visit Texas. It's a key step in understanding the state's pride and culture - which is often perceived as boastful by the other states.
The "tour guide" (projection) beckons
to be followed upon arrival
After we left Fort Worth yesterday we drove to Snyder which is not much more than a mining town – without the mine! On our way here we were surrounded by thousands upon thousands of wind turbines – the government’s answer to environmentally friendly power generation.
Photo credit: wind-power-turbines.info
Although quite a sight to behold, these turbines seem to do little for the economy of the towns they surround. Being self sufficient, they don’t generate any new employment and being so large, they take up A LOT of space; meaning the opportunity of utilizing the land in other ways (such as farming or town development) vanishes. They also affect wildlife since so much space is cleared away to make room for them and all of this in turn impacts tourism. I guess they are a cleaner option, but I wonder if the steel turbines really are a greener option - when so many thousands are needed to produce the same energy as one power plant?... Moving on!
I'm having a quiet day today, just working and catching up on some much needed laundry and rest at the hotel. It's nice to have a down day and unscramble myself and my to-do list!
(cranky look due to being bitten by a fire ant!
Now I know why they are called that: IT BURNS!
ouch!!)
The only way our weekend in Fort Worth could have been any better is if time had stopped for us and enabled a longer stay! We spent the greatest portion of Saturday in Downtown, were I got completely caught up in the beauty of the autumn decorations all around the city and jumped on the band wagon to find myself the perfect harvest decoration: a pumpkin!
After a short drive to the city of Arlington, Will and I found a pumpkin patch to select our perfect pumpkin from, and once our mission was complete, we came across an Eastern European restaurant/ gift shop, where we had a very surprising, very pleasant Russian lunch and perused souvenirs and icons.
Back in Fort Worth, the evening went by in a daze as we once again headed Downtown to enjoy the music, atmosphere and fine dining. Sunday was greeted bright and early by another visit to the Stockyards District where we witnessed a cattle drive (these days more a tourist attraction than a real cattle sale) and wandered around Stockyards Station until lunch time. This concluded our wonderful and jam-packed stay in Fort Worth.
Our perfect pumpkin was left sitting in our hotel room adorning a written message to the staff thanking them for our lovely stay and Fort Worth left a resounding message within Will and I to come back again soon!
Fort Worth is definitely the highlight of our trip so far and a breath of fresh air after the three days we’ve just had! The locals here are some of the nicest and most hospitable you'll meet anywhere; very proud of their city and eager to share it with visitors. In fact, the term "Southern hospitality" probably originated right here in this beautiful city!
We arrived just after lunch yesterday and have had a blast ever since. After getting checked into our (very nice) hotel, we walked around downtown into the night, exploring Fort Worth’s cultural district: which was every bit as multicultural and charming as it promised to be. The streets are decorated in neat garden patches – with flowers and trees trimmed into the shapes of various animals – cleaner and brighter than anywhere I’ve been before. Live music is heard all around; the intertwined sounds of jazz and country can be enjoyed from several outside dining spots, while horse drawn carriages wait to take lovers or tourists on a ride nearby.
Fort Worth like Brisbane Photo credit: selfstoragefinders.com
Fort Worth was guaranteed from the start to become one of my favorite American places! It seems the city planners took my two Australian homes (Brisbane and Rockhampton QLD) and placed them side by side, separated by a river in the middle! I didn’t realize until we had crossed the river – which alone is rare to encounter in an American city – and looked back at Fort Worth from a distance; that its skyline, the river and the bridge all combined; pulled my heart strings and made me feel like I was in Brisbane for a minute! Then when we crossed the bridge and entered the gateway to America’s West (known as The Stockyards District), it made me laugh how much it reminded me of Rocky!
Photo credit: foreclosurelistings.com
The brick roads, buildings of tin and wood with fire escapes down their sides, horses in the street and the distinct smell of cow dung; all reminiscent of a time and place long ago that you’d expect only to see in an old country & Western movie. The prices are outdated too! With decent beer like Bud Light starting at $1.50 per bottle and a full plate of BBQ meat and salad at $8. We spent the rest of the evening in the Stockyards District last night, visiting bars like Billy Bob’s (which is the home of the world’s largest “honky-tonk”), listening to live country music and watching a live bull ride.
Bull rider @ Billy Bobs Photo credit: billybobstexas.com
The only other place I have encountered real cowboys and cowgirls is in Central Queensland. There is a distinct difference in culture and fashion, and a must-experience for anyone who's never been somewhere like that!
Fort Worth is called the Country & Culture city and I whole-heartily agree! I love its diversity and look forward to the rest of my weekend here!
Due to great weather today, Baxter and I finally left our hotel room and explored Downtown Palestine. I was quite excited about this since I'm a real history geek and the city centre here contains some of the oldest buildings in Texas. However, I was quite disappointed!
It seems that while Palestine's city council is trying hard to attract tourism to the area and improve the small town's economy through the restoration of the city into its original charm... the locals do not welcome tourists or visitors of any kind with a friendly eye! I would never have expected people in a town like this to be unfriendly, yet they really are! At times I felt unsafe walking from my hotel as cars actually slowed down to stare at Baxter and I or to yell mean things out of their windows!
It's such a shame that I can't recommend this place as somewhere to visit. The old-world charm of the entire town, the local wineries and the ancient steam train (registered with American Heritage Railways) that is still in working condition providing rides and tours: made me think that it would be a shoe-in on my "awesome American places" list. But aside from the unwelcoming, unsmiling faces of the locals, the tourism industry here is poorly organized and not at all as inviting as portrayed!
Sorry Palestine! Instead of spending millions in renovating, maybe the town should invest in some people skills!
PS: Loved all the staff at the Holiday Inn :-) theirs were the only smiling faces I saw the entire time!
I'm looking forward to leaving in the morning - Forth Worth Texas here we come!
How my perfect morning turned into me almost burning down our hotel...! So, let me set the mood... This morning we had a slow and lazy start due to the cold grey sky which meant only one thing: rain. As we got up, ate breakfast and began our day - Will and I were hopeful that the clouds would clear and allow us to fulfill our plans: his were to conduct product training at the Big Brown coal mine and Baxter and I's were to explore the historic downtown of Palestine.
But, as the rain started to pour and my plans for the day well and truly had to be cancelled, Baxter and I improvised a new and exciting plan involving snuggling under the bed sheets, a movie on cable and popcorn! It was a great plan and we were warm and comfortable under the covers... until the microwave burnt my popcorn and filled the room with smoke, causing the smoke alarm to go off, the hotel manager to come running and the phone to ring non-stop!
Poor Bax got the fright of his life and hid under covers and behind pillows through all of this commotion and even throughout the entire hour that an industrial fan had to be left turned on to blow all the smoke and smell out of the window!
So far not what I had planned; but there is never a dull moment! Now that our nerves are calm, we are trying again with the movie - we decided we don't need the popcorn!
A very hot day in Texas today - which is typical since both the forecast and the preceding week have promised cool weather! I am almost boiling in my boots, jeans and turtle neck (called a skivvy in Australian) which I of course wore due to being too cold yesterday!
We are in Dallas, I am taking a breather and letting Baxter run around while Will attends a sales call. After this, we have another three hour drive to our destination; a city called 'Palestine' where we will be based for the next couple of days.
The cities we passed en-route through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana have provided our entertainment for the drive. Their names suggest that their settlers couldn't be bothered thinking up new ones for their American home and simply recycled the names of where ever they had come from... or how they were feeling at the time! In Alabama we passed: London, Birmingham, Leeds, York, Cuba, and my personal fav Moody. In Mississippi: Monroe and Chunky to name a few!
Having said that, Palestine Texas was not named by Arab settlers: it was named after the Northern settlement of Palestine Illinois! But I did find it interesting and I didn't know previously that all over the US, are cities named in honor of those English or European places that were left behind.
The highlight of our drive has so far been last night, when we were pulled over for speeding and Baxter (my mini poodle) barked and growled at the officer who approached our car with his high pitched squealing bark! I couldn't placate him at all and the officer thought it was so funny that he let us off scott-free! Champion!
Well this past week sure has been a hectic one! After wasting an entire weekend feeling homesick and commemorating my first year away from home by overindulging in fantastic just-like-Mama’s Russian food (that Will and I discovered at the International Farmers’ Market on Buford Hwy); it was go-go-go all week long, wrapping up fashion assignments from CFW, collaborating with friends and colleagues on various work projects and fine tuning my resume after realizing that writing about pretty things doesn’t give me the financial freedom to buy any of those pretty things!
… But nothing eases stress and homesickness quite like a road trip; the open road, fresh air and wide open spaces (somebody queue the Dixie Chicks!). So Will, Baxter and I are setting off later today on our second voyage into the Heart of Dixie or Dixie Land (which is what the American South calls itself); for three whole weeks! So far the schedule includes Oklahoma, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas & Louisiana. Let's see how efficient a blogger I am while out on the road!
I’ve always lived near the beach and miss it dreadfully, so from the beginning, the Gulf Shores and I were destined to fall in love! Have a look at this sand! This water! I wish I was there right now.
During our roadtrip, Will and I spent the night in Biloxi, Mississippi and then drove all the way down the coastal highway to Orange Beach. Located on the boarder of Alabama and Florida, Orange Beach is a one-of-a-kind visual overload with its white sand, dark blue water and brightly colored stilted houses on the sea shore. The beaches' boulevard is bustling with oyster and martini bars including the world famous Florabama lounge, fine dining and pristine beaches as far as the eye can see. While the city centre plays host to a shopping district with high fashion outlets, an amusement park, many tourist orientated shops with a friendly and laid back atmosphere throughout.
Overall, this small beach town is very family orientated, there are no nightclubs on the boulevard, mainly hotels and these stilted houses; which are mostly pet friendly. The local tourist centers include activities like fishing, bike riding, playing tennis and exploring the State Park.
The serene and laid back atmosphere is shaken once a year for the Hangout Music Festival and of course, we happened to be there on just this very weekend! So, unable to find a room for the night; Will and I drove the 8 hours back to Atlanta with the sound of the waves still crashing in our ears as we fell asleep. Going back to Orange Beach and staying in a bright stilted house on the beach is on my to-do list.
Fun Facts:
1. Americans who live inland will not typically eat seafood unless they are by the shore because the seafood loses its freshness within the distance it takes to travel inland.
2. Americans will not eat US oysters during their summer – or months missing the letter “R” (that is May, June, July, August) because they say the warm ocean water makes them go bad.
3. Australians call shrimps “prawns” so the stereotyped catchphrase “let’s put a shrimp on the barbie” that Americans use to imitate an Aussie is incorrect. I’ve never heard any fellow Australian, nor have I, ever called a prawn shrimp!
4. Pelicans in the Gulf Shore are not white like they are in Australia. They are grey and at first I thought they were covered in oil from a spill or something!
