Philadelphia

Those of you who know the area, know how close Philadelphia is to New York but even still we decided to stop in between for the night. After finishing up in Heather's with the internet and electricity we hit the road in the middle of Monday afternoon. Our route took us over the George Washington Bridge, a suspension bridge quite as spectacular as the Golden Gate in my eyes but obviously not with the location. We rejoined the pesky toll road system and crossed state boundaries into New Jersey. New Jersey seems to be alot more industrial than alot of the states we have visited on our trek across country but nonetheless we decided to go to the cinema to fill in the evening. We looked at the Sat Nav which told us that there was one in a mall along our route. Food and a film in one location. Goal!!!

We parked up in the oversize car park and went to the food court for dinner. We chose Johnny Rockets for burgers and fries. That sounds an awful lot like Eddie Rockets I her you say.......well it is. In fact, the only difference is in the name Johnny and Eddie. Everything else is exactly the same from the uniforms, the layout, the menu, down to the jukeboxes in the booths. We had a quick browse around a couple of shops before the film started and I picked up a pair of Quiksilver flip flops for $14 which I was happy with. We headed back to the cinema (we bought the tickets before the food so we knew how much time we would have - not just a pretty face, eh?! Not even says Emer;-)), bought popcorn and soda and headed into the theater to watch Public Enemies. Now I had heard mixed things about this film but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a slow burner but the battle between Johhny Depp and Christian Bale builds really well. Like the last film we saw, Americans seem to come to the cinema to chat and catch up, but we just dealt with it. After the film we hopped back in the RV and headed a little further to a rest area where we stayed for the night.

The next morning when Emer was getting cold milk for the cereal she got chatting to a garage man and found out how to get our pesky hubcaps off the wheels. While doing that and filling up our tyres for us he explained that they don't even make those hubcaps anymore. With full tyres and fuel we drove the remaining miles to Philadelphia. We went towards the city center and then drove around a bit looking for a place to park that wasn't metered or 2 hour only. After an unsuccesful few minutes we stuck a mall into the Sat Nav and headed for there, thinking that we would find a residential area close by and a bus stop. The route to the mall brought us through the park, whose avenues allowed free parking all day and all night. Not only that but it was on the route for the tourist trolley bus called Phlash which goes to all the tourist sites in the city so that was a good stroke of luck. We walked to the nearest stop which was at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Most of you would know it as the steps Rocky runs up training for his bouts with Apollo Creed. It's gas to see all the people finish their jogs and use the steps for plyometrics and stuff like that. We didn't have too much time to enjoy the scene as the bus came and brought us downtown.

First on the list of must-see things was Independence Square. We went into the Visitors Centre and picked up a map to the area. We walked out the door and went across the road to see the Liberty Bell, America's most important symbol of Freedom. There is alot of reading and stuff at the center but I got bored of it all after a while and just went and took some photos of it. After that we went into Independence Square which I was much more interested in. It was here that the Decleration of Independence was signed and where Congress sat until 1800 when they moved to DC. After going through security and having our bags searched we went into Old City Hall first. This housed the Supreme Court back in the day and it was amazing to see how the accused was made stand in an elevated platform surrounded by bars. From here we went to First Congress, where the House of Representatives and Senate sat up until 1800. We sat in replica seats in the House of Representatives while a talk was given and then we went upstairs to view the preserved Senate. As it is today, the Senate is a much grander room signifying it's status as the upper house in American politics.

Independence Hall is the main building in the square but unfortunately all tour tickets were gone for the day so we were unable to go on a guided tour but they have a first come first served express tour starting at 5pm sue to the numbers in high season which we went on. More on that later. Our stomachs were starting to give out to us so we headed for food. While in the bar in Brooklyn I got chatting to a couple who used to live in Philadelphia and I was told to make sure that we went to Geno's for a Philly Cheesesteak as they make the best one in the city. We found out where it was and strolled to it. It was about a half an hour walk through some Italian and Mexican neighbourhoods which had shops selling their produce on the street as well as inside. It made for an interesting walk seeing all the various items on makeshift shelves on the streets. We made it to Geno's and it was obvious that they had good food by the number of people eating and queueing to get served. We both got steak sandwiches with onions and I got American(Cheese) on mine. They were greasy and delicious, I'd expect nothing less. As we were eating and when we finished we looked at the numerous photos adorning the walkway and benches of famous people who have eaten at Geno's. And of course Rocky is given centre stage but there really are too many to mention. After the food we strolled back downtown to Independence Square where the queue for the express tour was relatively small so we joined it.

Groups of roughly 85 are let in at a time every ten minutes or so and of course we just missed out on the first group. We were front of the line for the next group which entered at about 5.15. We got to see the first floor, first we were told about the Supreme Court which was housed in the building. The public gallery was an open hallway which was seperated from the proceedings by a mere knee height barrier. After a few minutes we were shown into arguably the most important room in American history, the room where the American Constitution was voted on and signed. We were given a brief talk about the struggle to get consensus on the document and how delegates came from across the country and signed it at various seperate times, effectively committing treason by doing so. Sign it they did and look where it got them. After we saw this room and I got my photos we headed out onto the avenue and got the bus back to the RV. Here we chilled out for the evening, went back down to the Rocky steps when the sun went down to get some photos of the skyline and then headed off to a very slanty sleep.

We woke the following morning eager to see the other things on our list and hit the road before rush hour as we were pretty much parked in the city centre. We took the Phlash back to Independence Square and walked right past it to the US Mint. No cameras or cell phones are permitted in the building and they may not be checked in. On top of this photo ID is required so as I was the only one with some on me Emer said she would wait outside for me. I ran around it quickly, it was nothing amazing. There were loads of machines to press the various coins but everyone seemed to be on a break or they had minted their quota of coins as nothing was happening on the floor. I was out pretty much as soon as I entered and we hopped back on the bus up to City Hall to look into doing a tour up to tower. The City Hall in Philadelphia is the largest masonry structure in the world and you can go to the top of the tower for a view of the city. The next available spot was two hours away so we decided against it and went for food instead. We went to Reading Market on a recommendation of the city hall tourist lady and it was certainly a good idea.

Reading Market is an indoor market downtown and houses local independent fooderies. You can pretty much get anything you want from Sushi to BBQ and we went for reliable burgers and hot dogs. We almost got BBQ but Garrett said to wait until we crossed the Mason Dixon line until we had BBQ again as it's amazing in the south. The food and portions were excellent and neither of us were able to finish what we got. It was great to see the cross section of people all having their lunch in the market - from business types in their suits to tourists to the working class and unemployed. On the way out we bought some fresh fruit from a stall and then strolled down to Chinatown which was nothing amazing. It had the big Chinese entrance but once inside it was like any other part of town we had seen except the writing was in Chinese. Nothing like the Chinatown in New York. We strolled back out onto Market Street and then caught the bus back to the RV. It was mid afternoon at this stage so we stuck the address for the RV park into the Sat Nav and headed there. We stopped in a Wal-Mart and picked up some supplies along the way before stopping overnight in a rest area on I-95 just north of Baltimore.

New York - Upstate and the City

When we hit the road from Boston we rang the two people who wanted to put us up in New York - my friend Kelly who we camped beside in Bonnaroo and Emer's friend Heather who visitied Ireland for St. Partick's Day a couple of years ago. Heather was going to be very busy with work for the week and Kelly had a pretty free week so we decided to head to Kelly first. Kelly lives in the mountains in Gardiner which is in upstate New York and they were having a get together so she invited us along. We stopped in Wal-Mart to get some beer and ice-cream as there was plenty of food. We put her address into the Sat Nav and followed the directions into the middle of nowhere through small towns and up their long driveway to the house. We were greeted by her friend Paulie who showed us where to park and then introduced us to all the people there. We chatted and got to know all of Kelly's friends who all know each other through skydiving at the local drop zone. Paulie went out and cooked various meats that he smoked himself and we had a great feed. The peaches from Chicago went down very well for dessert and we all sat on the couches and watched the thunderstorm that started behind the house move it's way across the Hudson valley through the massive windows in the sitting room. The storm cleared to show the orange moon rising from behind the mountains and then the lunar eclipse later in the night. People slowly left through the night and when Paulie was leaving he invited us to his bar in Manhattan when we were in town. We headed off to bed when everyone had left and the hosts were going to bed themselves.

The following morning we slept in until 2 in the afternoon due to the peace, quiet and cool temperatures which was something we hadn't done in a long time. We had a very laid back afternoon as we did online stuff and Kelly pottered around cleaning up and getting her house in shape which suited everyone. In the evening we headed down to the farm where Kelly's boyfriend Frankie is living and working at the moment. We picked some vegetables from the garden and went back to start preparing dinner. We had chicken, some ginger flavoured rice and salad which is something we don't usually have but all the food was so fresh it was incredibly delicious. We chatted and chilled out for the evening and headed off to bed sometime after midnight.

The next morning we set an alarm to ensure we didn't sleep in until the afternoon again. We did some computer stuff before heading into Gardiner with Kelly to see the local town. We then headed to the drop zone to see some people landing after jumping out of a plane. Now it's something I have always wanted to do and something Emer is terrified of. When we were there all of Kelly's jumping buddies were asking if we were jumping today and we were saying no due to the costs. Kevin, who is a tandem master, offered to take me up cost price and Eric offered to do my video for free. We went to the supermarket to get some food for dinner and bring back all the cans we had - 125 which got us $5.75. Free money!! Emer rang her Mam to wish her a Happy 21st Birthday and then I decided to do the jump. We headed back to the drop zone and I filled in a load of forms while watching a video about the jump. Kelly and Emer headed back to the house to get my camera and get Adam who had headed home when we went to the supermarket. I got some training with Kevin and suited up when the 20 minute warning was given. There was no sign of the girls at this stage so Kevin was on the phone to tell them to hurry up. He had to stall the plane a little but they made it just in time so Kelly and Eric got suited up quickly and got on the plane with us.

The plane took off and circled once before opening the door at 4,00 feet for some students to do a training jump. The door closed and we headed up to 13,500 feet. A few experienced jumpers left the plane and then we were up. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be walking up to the edge of the plane. I stood at the edge of the plane, feet at 45 degrees, went through the 1,2,3 count and we were out of the plane. The feeling when you are falling through the air at 110mph is incredible. It's not like a rollercoaster where you leave your stomach behind, it's much more of a thrill than that. You fall at about 1,000 feet every 6 seconds and are free falling for about a minute. Your brain is totally clear and you are completely in the moment. We fell through some cloud and pulled the chute at 5,500 feet just below the cloud. The flight back down was great as you have an amazing view around - you can see the curvature of the earth when you open first. Kevin allowed me control the parachute for a moment and showed by how to put it into a spiral which was fun. On approach I had to lift my legs up straight and we had a textbook landing where we slid in on our bums. It didn't go so well for Eric who couldn't land at the drop zone and had to be collected by Kevin down the road. I was still buzzing on the ground and chatted with people for a while while the video was being put on disc. Adam put the footage on a DVD for me and he received a 6-pack for this, Eric refused to take money so I covered his flight costs and I gave Kevin a tip as he didn't get paid for the jump. All in all the whole thing cost me half of what it would have usually which was a bonus. If anyone is even contemplating doing one I can't recommend it enough.

When Kelly had talked to everyone there we hit the road back to the house as we were getting very hungry at this stage. I fired up the BBQ and pretty soon the burgers were cooking. We had two each and then I put some hot dogs and chicken skewers on for afterwards. We were both stuffed but still had some space for grilled pineapple, which is amazing if you haven't had it before. We went inside when the bugs started winning and chatted about skydiving and other things, watched my DVD and then Kelly showed us her training jumps. One of their friends called over for a while but we were all in bed by midnight after all the excitement.

Kelly was doing yoga with a client the following morning so we had to sleep in until noon which wasn't too bad. The girls did some meditating and other things while I was updating the blog and doing other stuff online. In the afternoon we went for a hike up to Duck Pond and around the Hohawk Reserve for about 2 hours. It was really peaceful and there were stunning views of the valley, it really is hard to believe we are just an hour or two from one of the largest cities and concentrations of people in the world. When we got back to the house Kelly had to run off to work so we had a bite to eat and packed up before hitting the road towards the city and to Emer's friend Heather, who lives in Sleepy Hollow. We arrived there sometime after ten, parked the RV and went up to her apartment. We chatted for a while and when we went to go to bed she refused to let us sleep outside and gave us her bed while she slept in the spare room.

We had to get up early to move the RV to a free space as where we parked turned into pay parking at 9am, even on a Saturday. Again, having inside knowledge on the area made finding a space very easy so when it was parked we headed off to get breakfast. Heather drove us to a place that does very good breakfast about 10/15 minutes from Sleepy Hollow. When we arrived they were full so we had to wait about 10 minutes for a table but it was worth the wait. We both got omelettes and I got home fries while Emer had fruit (imagine, choosing fruit over potatoes!!!). We were all stuffed afterwards so we went for a walk in the Rockefeller reserve, a park on the banks of the Hudson river owned by the Rockefellar family. We had a short stroll and a quick throw but the sun was out in force so we retreated to the car and turned up the A/C to full. Heather wanted to show us one more local touristy thing before we were done so she brought us to the Union Church of Pocantico Hills. It is a fairly non descript church until you walk inside and see the stunning stain glass windows inside. They were comissioned by the Rockefeller family and were created by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall. Unlike most of the stain glass windiws I have seen, the glass itself has been painted and dried in so the windows resemble paintings as well as being stain glass windows. Unfortunately photography is prohibited inside and the church is so small that you can't get away with it. We headed back to Heather's to chill out for the afternoon, the girls chatted and caught up while I had a power nap before the evenings festivities.

When we met Paulie up at Kelly's he told us about his bar he is part owner of, the only Kiwi bar in Manhattan. Since his home smoked meat was so good we planned to go to his bar for dinner. Heather's friend was having a few birthday drinks in Brooklyn so we were going to go there after before heading back to Manhattan and going to a bar where Rachael, one of the people we became friends with at Bonnaroo, bartends at the weekend. Heather offered to be the designated driver so early evening we drove into Manhattan, an experience in itself. Drivers in the city are crazy and don't give up any space so you really need to take it, not a hope we could have survived with Ita. We parked the car by our final destination and walked down to Seaport where Paulie's bar is. It was about a half hour walk but it was great to walk and see a part of the city off the tourist track. Loads of people were sitting outside their buildings enjoying their Saturday evenings and the city was alive. When we made it to the bar, called Nelson Blues, Paulie was very busy so we were looked after by Derek, an Irishman withan American mother who has been in and out of America since 1994. We ordered drinks and food and waited in anticipation. Nothing could have prepared us for how good the food was - we had lamb chops and chicken wings for starter. The meat was incredibly tender and juicy and so full fo flavour I could have eaten them all night. We both got burgers for main course which were one of the best burgers I have ever had, and I include the Kobe burger in Seattle in that list.

After we finished our food the bar had calmed down a bit so we sat at the bar and chatted with Paulie who made sure our glasses were never empty. The generosity and hospitality he showed us, who he had only met for a few hours earlier in the week, was unbelievable and we were sad to have to leave but we had plans. He wouldn't let us pay for any of the drinks we had while there and knocked a chunk off the food bill too. We got contact details for Paulie and we will certainly keep in contact with this full of life character. We hopped in a cab and headed over the Brooklyn bridge to meet up with Heather's friends for their birthday. We sat out in the smoking area with everyone and got to know a whole new group of people, who bought us drinks while we were there and wouldn't let us repay the favour. While there a storm moved over the city and we watched the lightning light up the sky from under the massive canopy. After a while we got another cab and headed back into Manhattan to Rivington Street where Rachael was working. She was delighted to see us and again wouldn't let us put our hands in our pockets. It was an underground bar where the barmen mix music behind the bar in between serving drinks and there was a very nice crowd there. Rachael managed to take a bit of time off to come and have a chat with us which was nice but the night got late very quickly so around half 2 we hit the road. It was great to have the car just there and Heather had us home in no time. It also helped that there was no traffic too.

Heather was up early the next morning but we allowed ourselves a bit of a sleep in. We got up before lunch and walked down to the train station and headed into Manhattan to be tourists for the day. The train brought us into Grand Central Station and we walked around that section of the city. Both of us have been to the city more than once so it was nice to be able to just take it eay and not have to go and see a load of things. When we came out of the station we stumbled upon a massive market running the length of Madison Avenue. We walked a bit of it and I got a wallot which is going ot be my deacoy while travelling through South America. Now I just have to get some fake credit cards and money to fill it up with. From there we walked to Times Square and were surprised to see that sections of it are now pedestrianised. Loads of people were out sitting on coloured deck chairs where traffic was racing by the last time I was in the city. I'm not sure if I like the changes, I really liked the chaos of all the traffic buzzing by all around. We headed to Rockefeller plaza after that and stumbled upon the filming of Harrison Ford's new film, Morning Glory. Harrison wasn't there at the time but the female lead was. It was quite surreal to walk past as all the extras were just standing still and then suddenly they explode into life. There were sections of the sidewalk that nobody was allowed onto and there was a massive number of personnel to ensure nobody got into a shot. We continued onto the plaza after we had a look around and I headed to Top of the Rock while Emer strolled along 5th Avenue a bit. Thankfully I had the wallot so she never got a chance to break the bank. The view from the top of the Rockefeller centre is stunning as you can see both downtown and central park, a view not possible from the top of the Empire State Building. We walked around for a bit longer and then got the train back out to Sleepy Hollow, had a chinese for dinner and then headed off to bed a bit later.

The next day Heather was in work so we said our goodbyes the evening before and in the afternoon we hit the road south towards Philadelphia and our next adventure. The last few days in New York and the people who showed us an amazing time are certainly going to live in the memory for a long long time.

Boston For The Holiday

When we were in San Francisco and staying with Jack we were introduced and hung around with a friend of his from Boston named Garrett who offered to show us around Boston when we were in town so we had been in touch with him as the day got closer. We touched base with him when we were on the road and he was waiting for his train which was delayed but he gave us an address to park the RV and told us how to get downtown so that is what we did. The weather was very overcast when we parked the RV but we got on the train and took it to Government Center and had a look around. We strolled a part of The Freedom Trail which is a walking tour around downtown which brings you to some historic sites related to the fight for Independence. The beauty of it is that it is marked out on the road by a red line (very similar to the cobblestoned line that runs through Berlin to signify the Berlin Wall) so you don't need to worry about following maps or anything difficult like that. After a couple of hours of walking around Garrett rang us to say he was back so we met him and headed back to his apartment and chilled out for the evening. Some of his friends came around and we chatted and caught up on the last two months.

Since July 4th was on a Saturday we hoped that the Friday would be considered a public holiday much like what happens when St. Patrick's Day falls on a weekend so we parked in the metered area outside Garrett's apartment for the night. The meters come on at 8am and we got up at 10am to find a parking ticket on the windshield. We got up straight away to move it and it was good that we did as the parking enforcer was doing their rounds again just as we pulled out. We chilled out in the apartment for the morning and got some food before heading over to one of Garrett's friends apartments in Little Italy for a party. People were playing Beer Pong and Flip Cup and other such shenanigans when we arrived but after a while the party moved inside. It was a good day and evening as we got to know a load of new people and got chatting about our trip and other stuff. We got incredibly good sliced pizza from a restaurant across the road called Fernestos - they have 16 varities of pizza slices to choose from - Emer got me the Buffalo Chicken which was incredible. The Red Sox game was on in the evening but unfortunately they lost which people were a bit upset about. People decided to head to a bar around midnight but we had all had enough so we got a cab back to Garretts and hit the hay.

The following morning was Independence Day. We knew there would be free parking so we brought the RV back to Garrett's and met him down at one of the locals, the Sunset Bar and Grill for food. The hot dog eating competition was on TV when we got there which is a 4th of July tradition. An American ate 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win the crown for the 3rd year in a row - it was quite disgusting to watch but strangely addictive too so you couldn't take your eyes off it. We got food and then headed back to the apartment with a few beers to watch the Red Sox game and celebrate America's Independence. There were fireworks and a free concert by Neil Diamond scheduled for when it got dark so Garrett was making calls during the day to see what people were doing to watch them. Nobody was interested in going downtown and having to deal with the crowds but he got hold of his friend Mary who lives on Bunker Hill. She has a roof deck with great views of the river and downtown so in the evening we headed over to her house. There was plenty of banter as the sun went down, we watched Neil Diamond and the free concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on TV and then went out on the deck to watch the stunning 30 minute fireworks show. Everyone was in agreement that it was amazing and then we partied a bit longer. One of Mary's friends had been on the jury for a murder trial and was given the night off so after midnight they headed to a bar so again we called it a night.

The following day Garrett was having a lazy Sunday before having to go back to work after the long weekend so we joined him for a while, watching the start of the Red Sox game with him. In the afternoon we decided to be tourists again so we got the T downtown and completed The Freedom Trail all the way across the river and up to Bunker Hill. On the way back to the train we stopped by Fernesto's for more slices of incredible pizza. The sun was shining and it was a great day to be walking around the city so lots of people were out. None of the restaurants in Little Italy take reservations so there were queues outside all the best ones. We got the train back to Garrett's and took it easy for the evening.

Monday morning and the alarm went off early to get us up to move the RV to a place with free parking which was easy to find thanks to Garrett's inside knowledge. We had a bit more of a nap before getting a train all the way to the aquarium. Here we boarded the boat to bring us out into the ocean where we were going Whale watching. At noon the boat left the harbour and went due east for 26 miles to a known Whale feeding ground. We were there a few minutes and we got the first sight of a humpback whale coming up for air. The boat moved closer and we saw the whale come up a few more times before it dove underwater, displaying it's tail fin above the water on the way. We watched this whale a couple of more times before moving away to find others which we did relatively easily and it was a good choice too. The next one we saw had a calf by it's side which was quite playful. It breached the water and splashed down a couple of times and also slapped it's tail off the water a few times. We stayed out for about an hour and had plenty of up close sightings of humpback whales so it was a very worthwhile trip. Upon our return to land we noticed we were close to site of the Boston Tea Party so we walked down to the river where it happened and we believed a replica ship to be. A concierge at one of the posh apartment complexes along the way informed us that the boat was up in Maine undergoing repairs and the shop had burned down twice in successive years so they hadn't rebuilt it. It was a little disappointing but we headed back to Garrett's in the evening and went for BBQ for dinner. Monday's are all you can eat wings so myself and Garrett went for that while the girls went for ribs. We all left the restaurant completely satisfied, we got some sundaes in McDonalds for dessert and then headed up to Garrett's to chill out for the evening.

Garrett had to go to Connecticut for work the following moring so we chose to head south to New York too but first we wanted to go and see the Harvard campus. We planned to leave the RV at the free parking and get a bus but the weather turned sour Tuesday morning so we drove instead. A bit of driving around in circles and we found a metered parking spot with a 2 hour limit so we filled the meter with quarters and lwaked around the campus. We found a free map with a walking tour through the famous campus so we followed that route. The campus, like the rest of the city really, is steeped in history and is unlike alot of American cities. Redbrick buildings dominate the campus and the cathedral is a stunning centerpiece to the whole place. It was nice to see the campus but the weather cut our stroll short and we headed back to the RV, had some lunch and then hit the road south to New York where we had a few people to visit.

Hitting The East Coast

So we drove out of Chicago as the evening was closing in and we joined the toll road. The alternative added miles and hours to the trip so despite having to pay to use the road it certainly worked out cheaper in our gas guzzler. The plan was to visit Cedar Point in Sandusky as Mike Jnr. had recommended it to us so we had a fair bit of driving ahead of us and we lost an hour crossing from Central Standard Time into Eastern Standard Time. We drove until it was dark and then went to a Wal-Mart to get some food supplies for the upcoming days. While we were in the queue for the checkout we saw a bride and groom buying some things in Wal-Mart, very surreal. We got some dinner in Applebee's and continued on until we got to a rest area about an hour from Cedar Point and went to sleep.

The alarm had us up nice and early so that we would get a full day on the rollercoasters. It's built on the banks of Lake Eerie, one of the 5 great lakes. As we arrived it was raining so we parked up on our timber blocks, put on our raincoats, packed our lunches and headed in. The park had 17 roller coasters and queues were a bit bigger than at 6 flags so we only went on the 5 star rides which were rated as "aggressive thrills", of which there ten. The best ones we went on were Raptor (a leg dangley one with plenty of loops and twists), Millenium Force (a really fast sit down ride with lots of steep turns and crests), Maverick (overhead brace with vertical drops, loads of twists and loops and a section where you get accelerated really hard in a tunnel), Magnum XL200 (the first hyper coaster - roller coaster with a drop bigger than 200 feet at the start - built with a big drop in, lots of fast turns and crests), Wicked Twister (similar to Deja-Vu in that you fly past the loading area a couple of times going backwards and forwards straight up with twists) and the best ride of the day and the one we went especially for: Top Thrill Dragster. For this you get strapped in with a big over the head brace and go out to the waiting area. Here you have the lights like at a drag race and when they go green you are accelerated from 0 to 120 mph in 4 seconds, go straight up vertically 420 feet, come straight back down and finish beside where you start about 11 seconds later. It's an absolutely mental ride and one of the best I have ever been on. Highly recommended. It closed down for a bit while we were in the queue and alot of people left but we got to ride it when it reopened. A while later the ride closed again and the wind didn't let up for the evening so I reckon we were one of the last to ride it that day. We drove again for a while towards Cleveland which is our next stop. We had dinner along the way and stopped in a rest area for the night.

We didn't set an alarm as we were both knackered after the late night the previous night and all the excitement of the roller coasters. We drove into Cleveland paying more tolls along the way and parked down on the docks. We were in Cleveland to visit the Rock and Roll Museum and arrived around lunchtime. It was really enjoyable looking at all the various memorabelia from all the inductees. Their collection is incredibly extensive, alot of it donated from various estates of famous dead (and living) stars like John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Slash, Bruce Springsteen, Queen, U2, Pink Floyd and every kind of inductee in between. There is plenty of space in between all the various instruments, clothes, costumes, notes and all sort of memorabilia on the first three floors and then they have the Wall of Fame on the 4th floor with all the inductees signatures on the 4th along with videos snippets of them being inducted and some music videos of alot of their hits. The top floors are a rotating display and on show when we were there it was Bruce Springsteen. They had an incredible number of artefacts related to The Boss from lyric sheets and the desk he wrote most of his songs at to the clothes on the cover of Born In Then USA and his iconic Telecaster. I really enjoyed this museum.

Next on our list of To Do's was Niagra Falls but we stopped at the cinema on the way for the evening and went to Terminator Salvation. It wasn't too bad but it's nothing on the first two films but they never will be. We headed to another rest area on the route towards Niagra Falls and got some sleep before crossing over into Canada. There was alot of rain during the night drumming down on the roof which kept waking us during the night so neither of us got up when the alarm went off at 9am. When we did hit the road again (still with the tolls, grrr) there were some flash floods along the road which was slowing down traffic but we were through them relatively quickly. Another toll road brought us to Buffalo and soon we were crossing the bridge over to Canada, having our passports stamped and we were back in the metric world. A few kilometres down the road and we were driving past Niagra Falls which is a spectacular sight. We parked the RV down the road and got a shuttle back to the viewing area. We joined the throngs looking over the edge at the mist being kicked up by the millions of gallons pouring over the edge every minute. The sun was shining behind us and was creating a rainbow through which the boats were going into the base of the falls. Before we arrived I had wanted to go on the boat and when we found out it was only 13 dollars each it was sold to me. We strolled down along the cliff to where the boats board, received our blue poncho and boarded the boat. A few minutes later we were sailing upstream into the mist and then the boat was working hard to keep us in the base of the falls. The roar of the water was incredible and surrounded us and a big cheer went up when the announcer welcomed us to Niagra Falls. After a few minutes of getting wet the boat turned around and brought us back to dock downstream. I picked up some Whisky for a friend in Duty Free on our way back across the border and we hit the road again back into USA. This crossing was alot more uneventful than coming back in from Mexico and we rejoined the toll road I-90 towards Boston.

We woke up at another rest area but couldn't find any milk for breakfast so hit the road to the next set of shops where we got gas and milk. We had breakfast and then hit the road to Boston. We continued our routine of staying in an RV park the night before we reach a city and Boston was no different. We booked into one about an hour west of the city and put it in the Sat Nav. We encountered some incredibly heavy rainfall and went through a load of different classic rock stations as the miles ticked away. It cost us $28 when we left the toll road for the last time and we reached the RV park in the evening. It was a large park with lots of trees which is nice but unfortunately they block the Wi-Fi signal so we had to do without internet. Emer cooked stew, we touched base with Garrett (a guy we met in San Fran when we were staying with Jack who offered to put us up and show us a good time in Boston) and gave the RV a good clean. The next morning we filled up the tanks and drove the last few miles to Boston for the July 4th festivities.

Chicago

When we left you last we had just left Nashville in Tennesse and were heading north to Chicago. The first evenings drive was uneventful as we reached a rest area on the Interstate along the way and laid down our weary bodies and went to sleep. We were woken in the morning by the start of a shower so we got dressed and hit the road straight away to prevent leaks. Our plan was to stay at an RV park to clean up and refresh everything before hitting Chicago. We went to one and parked up but couldn't get an internet connection, despite moving sites a few times. We were able to get a refund so we did that and went to one closer to the city. We were more successful here with the internet so Emer had a nap while I got stuck into uploading photos and other online chores. We caught up on stuff and generally took it easy for the day before hitting the hay.

The following day we did our usual morning at an RV park routine and hit the road after noon. We stopped along the way to have some lunch and then headed on to Chicago. We caught a bit of rush hour traffic which actually worked out in our favour as we reached the Debnars house about 5 minutes before Jo came home. The Debnars are Emer's cousins and were very excited to have us come visit them while we were in Chicago. We parked the RV outside the house and came into the house. Jo started cooking and instructed us to sit down and relax which we did. We chatted as the various members of the family started coming home - first Mike Jr. from a job interview, then Brian from Work and Mike Snr. arrived home sometime later that night. Before he got home we had sloppy joes for dinner, chatted for ages and looked at some of our photos from where we have been. The lads are around our age and had plenty of things planned for us for the preceeding few days so we went to bed (in a house, a strange sensation) safe in the knowledge that we would get to see a good bit of the city.

The following day Mike Snr. was aff work so he brought us downtown. First though we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast which were very good, despite my dislike of nearly all things cinnamon. Our first stop downtown was Navy Pier which juts out into Lake Michigan and was the scene for the World Fair back in the 30's. It is very touristy and has mini golf and a ferris wheel (which was invented in Chicago for said World Fair) and lots of shops and places to take a boat out onto the lake and other touristy things. A very nice place full of life and colour. After this we drove to Michigan Avenue (Chicago's 5th Avenue) and then headed over to Soldier Field. This is where the football team, the Chicago Bears, play and also there are museums and a aquarium and other things like that, again all of it on the lakeshore. Another very nice place with a great view of downtowns skyline. We headed back after this, got caught in some more of Chicago's chronic traffic and made it back early evening. Mike Jnr.'s laptop had a pretty nasty virus on it so Emer got to work fixing it while the BBQ was fired up. We had amazing steaks for dinner out in the garden and played bag toss afterwards. Myself and Emer beat Brian and Mike 2-0 in games to take the crown. The lads weren't happy losing to a couple of beginners so we were sure to play a rematch at some stage. Emer continued fixing the computer after dinner while I opened up one of the wooden puzzles I bought in Bonnaroo and spent the next hour or two trying to solve. Nobody thought that I could do it but I prevailed and proved them all wrong.

We were woken the following morning to the sound of rain. Really heavy rain at that. In fact, over 6 inches of rain fell in less than 2 hours as we watched the streets fill with water up to our exhaust. Thankfully it stopped by the time we had to leave to collect Peter who was coming back from college. Mike Jnr. drove myself and Emer out of the city to where the bus dropped Peter off at a mall. We grabbed some lunch and had a look around the mall at suburban America and all the 15 year old girls that hang around there. We headed back and had to take a detour due to the crazy traffic on the freeway that just wasn't moving. We made it back in time to quickly change and head back out to the subarbs to Larry's house, Mike's brother. We all went out for some deep dish Chicago style pizzas which were incredibly filling. Really good but I struggled to finish my third slice. It just meant that there was plenty to bring home with us. We went back to Larry's house and went to the basement where he has a bar and a pool table and we had some beers here and laughed and chatted. We had to leave before the tequila was brought out as we had an early start in the morning.

The alarm had me up at 8 in the morning and I turned on the computer to try and watch the first Lions test online. I found a site that was streaming it and watched the Lions almost snatch the victory at the death. At 10 the crew started arriving and we headed off to get the bus to bring us to Wrigley Field to go and see the Chicago Cubs play baseball against the Cleveland Indians. Wrigley Field is one of the oldest fields in baseball and probably one of the most iconic. Brian got a crew of 8 together and treated us to tickets for the game which was an absolute blast. It started just after noon with the singing of the national anthem, the first pitch by George Lopez (a TV star over here) and then the game. The sun was splitting the stones so thankfully we were in the shade. The stadium is so old it reminds me of Landsdowne Road before they knocked it. We had beers, hot dogs and cheered the Cubs as they fought in the tight game. It finished 4-4 after 9 innings but American sports don't end in ties so extra innings were needed. In the 13th innings Cleveland scored a run so the Cubs needed to score to avoid losing the game. At this stage loads of people had left their seats down behind the dugout so I walked in as if I had a ticket and sat down about 10 rows from the field. A few people followed me down and some others got caught. The Cubs went out in the bottom of the 13th innings against one of their former pitchers, and Brian's favourite player, Kerrie Wood. He preceeded to choke and threw a wild pitch that the catcher couldn't catch to allow the Cubs win the game 6-5.

We all met up again and headed out of the stadium and went to Wrigleyville, a street of bars right by the ball park. We went into a bar where we got a round table that sat us all. Here we ordered some food and a tower of beer, basically a big tall glass tower of beer with a tap on the end which allows you pour your own beers. It's 180 oz big (which is about 12 pints I think) and is quite gimmicky but was cheaper than buying individual beers. We stayed here for a while and then headed to another bar across the road. This bar wasn't as good as the last one but we hung around and had a couple more drinks before we all started fading. We got the bus back home and headed off to bed after a long day. In the bar we made plans to go to the beach the next day with great intentions of leaving around 11 in the morning.

Surprisingly enough, nobody was up by that time. Around 1pm we were good to go and myself, Emer, Brian, Peter, Amanda and Brian all squeezed into Brian's Honda and we headed down to Lakeshore Drive, the address to have in Chicago. We found parking and walked down to the beach on Lake Michigan and realxed and messed about on the beach throwing various flying toys and just chilling out. It wasn't too hot so none of us went swimming as the lake was really cold. I call it a lake but it really feels like an ocean, it is absolutely massive - you can't see the other side of it at all and that's just looking across the narrow section. We left the beach in the late afternoon and headed back to the house. Dinner was been prepared when we got back, we were having BBQ again which I was very happy about. We had chicken and beef skewers and chicken breasts as well with a mix of vegetables. We had ice-cream and home grown peaches and pears for dessert and were well and truly stuffed afterwards. We were challenged to another game of bag toss, this time by the twins Peter and Mike. The first game was really close and we lost in a nailbiter 21-20 and lost the second game to relinquish our crown. The mosquitos were out in force so we retreated inside where we watched Benjamin Button before heading off to bed as we had an early start in the morning.

Mike Snr. and Jo had Monday off work so after a quick stop off to drop Peter back for work we headed on to Springfield, the capital of Illinois. This was also where Abraham Lincoln lived before he left for the White House and there are plenty of museums and memorials in the town as a result of that. We started off at the Abraham Lincoln museum which chartered his humble beginnings, his time as a lawyer and early years as a politician and then his time in the White House all the way to when we was assassinated. It was a very good museum with plenty of information and plenty of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia, including the iconic hat. From here we went to the old capitol building in the square which is where Barack Obama announced he was running for president. Abraham Lincoln practiced law here alot before he became a politician. From here we drove to his tomb which is very large and grand. It has a big monument inside of which he is buried along with his family. There is a metal bust of him outside the tomb where everyone rubs his nose as it is supposed to bring good luck. The last stop for the day was a visit to his house but we made a quick detour to Cozy Dog on Route 66, the birthplace of the Corn Dog. A corn dog is a hot dog surrounded in dough on a stick. They are quite popular over here (as is alot of fast food to be honest) and it was nice to have one at it's birthplace but I didn't care too much for it. We headed to the house and got tickets to the last viewing. It was quite a nice house and was well decorated as he lived a comfortable life as a lawyer. We then headed back to meet Peter and his girlfriend and had a bite to eat before hitting the road back to Chicago. Along the way myself, Emer and Mike Jnr. watched The Departed on the in-car DVD system (with built-in flip-down screen just like an airplane) which made the journey go alot quicker. We got back to Chicago after 11pm and it was nice to see that traffic dies down at some stage. We were all knackered by the time we made it back and headed straight to bed after a long day.

The following day myself and Emer decided to head downtown ourselves and have a look around and be tourists for the day. We were dropped to the train station and took the blue line all the way downtown. It was another hot day so it was nice to be on the air conditioned train. We walked along State Street for a bit where I bought a bag and Emer looked for a dress to replace her favourite one that got damaged at Bonnaroo. After a quick bite to eat we went to Michigan Avenue and onto Millenium Park where we got to see "The Bean". It's a metal sculpture and although The Bean isn't it's official name it's what everyone calls it. We then headed back to Michigan Avenue and walked along, stopping in various shops along the way. Along the way we found Emer's exact dress in a different colour which she was very happy about. We made it all the way to The Hancock Center where we went up to the Observation Deck on the 94th floor. Although it isn't as high as Sears Tower, the views are much better as it is right by the water and you can see all of downtown and see across the lake (but still not to the other side, it's crazy how big the lake is). We followed the audio tour and looked across the beautiful city and then had a drink up on the 96th floor which was nice. We then walked all the way back up to Millenium Park to have a look at the water features. They are tall rectangles with fountains in between them. They are covered in LED's which show various faces on them and every now and then water spurts out of the persons face on the screen which is funny to see. We hopped back on the blue line and were collected and headed back to the house.

The following day we just took it easy and caught up on some online stuff while Emer fixed Peter's computer which caught the same virus. Mike cooked burgers on the BBQ in his raincoat under an umbrella for lunch and I cooked my chicken dish for everyone as a thank you for all the hospitality they showed us. Jo, the mother, didn't know what to do as she nearly always does the cooking and found sitting down and doing nothing very hard to do. After dinner myself, Emer, Brian and Mike Jnr. went to Hala Kahiki, a really cheesy Hawaiian themed bar and had some cocktails which was great craic. Myself and Emer had some cocktail served in a massive, bright, porcealin bowl and the lads had different cocktails full of rum, kaluha and various fruit juices. We headed back, chatted for a while and then headed off to bed. The following day we decided to take Ita for a drive so we did some shopping at various places, including back at the mall we collected Peter at. It recharged the batteries ahead of us leaving and we got some presents to say thank you to the Debnars. We got Chinese for dinner and watched Little Miss Sunshine and took it easy for the evening, deciding to leave on Saturday (it being Thursday at the moment). Brian had Friday off so we headed off to bed so we could have the full day to enjoy before hitting the road again.

Peter was back from work for the weekend so Friday we left before lunch and headed back down to Lakeshore Drive, getting stuck in some horrible traffic on the freeway (again). We went to the Field Museum, home to the most complete T-Rex fossil in the world. They also have an Egyptian burial chamber with various mummies and other interesting exhibits. After seeing a good bit of the museum we walked under Lakeshore Drive and went into Grant Park where The Taste of Chicago had started today. We walked around the various stalls, all selling delicious foods, before deciding on having some BBQ Rib Tips. He handed over the tickets we had purchased and myself and Emer devoured them down. We strolled back to the car and home through more terrible traffic. We all grabbed showers before heading out for the night. First up was an all you can eat buffet in the casino. On Friday's they have crab legs so the lads had their fill of them. Neither of us are massive fish fans but they were pretty good. It's great fun cracking the shell and successfully extracting the full piece of meat. After we were all stuffed we headed into the casino to try out our lucky numbers from the night before. However, we were thwarted at the entrance as even though you only have to be 21 to get in, if you are using a passport as an ID you need to be 25 so Emer couldn't get in. A crazy rule which meant we didn't lose any money so we just headed off to the main event for the night.

Line dancing at Cadillac Ranch. Brian goes here the odd time but for the rest of us it was a new experience. And it was actually alot of fun. We all had a few beers while we watched and tried to pick up some of the moves. There were alot of people there in their denims, boots and cowboy hats strutting their moves. After a while we got involved in some of the group dances which were not too dissimlar to ceili's. We all had a great time, much more than I thought we would do to be honest. Around 3am Peter, who took one for the team being the designated driver, brought us all home and we got to bed sometime around 4.

The alarm went off at 8am so I could watch the rugby but there wasn't a chance I was getting up so I turned it off and slept in for a while. We got up later in the morning and I copied all my photos onto DVD's to have as a backup. When I started I realised the enormity of the task, so far I have taken over 40GB of photos which took 12 DVD's to backup. I also took advantage of the full kitchen and made another batch of curry to cook on the road. We cleaned some clothes and basically enjoyed our last few hours in a house before we hit the road in the afternoon. We gave everyone the presents we had for them as a thank you, it was the least we could do after the incredible hospitality that was shown to us over the last few days. They were very grateful and crazily felt bad for not getting us something. As if feeding us and showing us around and housing us for the last week and a bit wasn't enough. We took some group photos in the garden and by the RV before hitting the road for our next adventure.

Bonnaroo

After finally agreeing on what we were going to do, we set off in convoy to join the queues of traffic entering the farm just off the freeway. Whatever way it worked out we managed to join a queue that had us in in minutes, only to join another queue. This queue was a security check to remove any weapons, glass, drug paraphenalia or any other dangerous or banned items from the RV. Just as we were within sight of all the security personnel we remembered that all of Emer's drink was in glass bottles and we still had the bottle of wine from Napa Valley in California. It was too late to hide it so we just told them we had it and asked if we could pour it into plastic bottles which they had no problem with so we got to work on all the Smirnoff Ice. The only thing we had to open the bottle of wine was my swiss army knife so if we wanted to salvage that it would nearly certainly cost me the penknife so we lost that one straight away. The transfer of the smirnoff ice was a slow process and pretty soon the guards got bored and distracted so Emer was able to sneak half of the bottles back on and the others were poured into large plastic bottles so it wasn't a bad result considering. With the security check completed we handed over our tickets, received our wristbands and headed in to find a place to park and setup camp. Again having 9 different opinions in the other RV can't have helped the decision making but pretty soon we were parked and cracking open the beers.

We all got to know each other for the next while as alot of the 9 in the other RV didn't know each other. Everyone was connected through each other but alot of people only met for the first time when they met at the RV rental office the previous day. All were amazed at the road trip we were on and they all gave advice as to where we should go for our last few weeks. After a while people started moving and were interested in finding out what the concert venue itself (named Centeroo) was like so we headed in. At this stage it was bright and warm with the odd cloud in the sky. We walked around inside for a while and after a bit myself and Emer split from the group and looked around at the various stalls and tents that were setup. It was very much in the early stages on Thursday afternoon but we certainly got a feel for what to expect. Also, Thursday is reserved for up and coming bands which neither of us had heard of so we headed to the cinema tent to watch game 4 of the Lakers v Magic NBA Finals. It turned out to be a very good idea as by half time the tent was full and a thunder storm had come in over the farm and was drenching everybody. In the third quarter Emer headed off to get food. Since the tent was so full they were operating a one in one out policy and the queue was quite big so we agreed to meet back at the RV after the game. However, at the start of the fourth quarter Emer was back and had brought me food. She had also changed into hiking boots and had an umbrella and our rain jackets due to the storm outside which I was very thankful for. Orlando had led for the majority of the game but Dwight Howard missed two free throws in the dying seconds which left their lead at 3 points. Derek Fisher scored a 3 pointer (his first of 6 attempts) with 6 seconds left to tie the game. LA's defence did the job and the game went into overtime. The crowd in the tent were very excited at this stage and were quite vocal for whichever team they were supporting - Orlando Magic fans were definitely outnumbering Lakers fans but the minority had the last laugh as Derek Fisher hit another 3 pointer and then LA got a steal to pull away and win, the first away win of the series to open up a 3-1 lead. Thankfully the rain had stopped but it had left it's mark in muddy fields which were difficult to navigate in the flip flops I was wearing but we made it back and headed off to sleep in preperation for the following 3 days of music.

Friday morning brought a small amount of leaking which was dripping right onto my face and had me out of bed nice and early. We drove the RV up onto timber blocks we have to create a sideways tilt and let all the water flow off the roof which will hopefully prevent any more water getting in. Rain doesn't seem to be a problem, it's the stagnant water that sits on the roof that manages to break through the barrier I created and drip on us inside. With the water off the roof the dripping ceased inside so we were left to enjoy the morning and early afternoon in the sunshine. We had a barbeque for lunch and headed into the festival in the early afternoon. First on the list was Animal Collective, a band with quite a large following at home and seemingly over here too. They were on the "Which" Stage, the second stage at the festival. Now I have some of their albums but never really got into them so we didn't stay here for that long. Lisa, one of the 9 beside us, wanted to see Galactic who were playing on the "What" Stage which was the main stage. These guys were amazing, they are a brass band from New Orleans and they played for over an hour playing some incredible songs with each one of them soloing at various times. They had a dueling brass part to the show and the trombone player even went crowd surfing during one of his solos. I really enjoyed the hour we saw of them and looking back on it now it was certainly one of the highlights of the weekend. Santigold and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were playing at the same time so we caught a bit of each, neither of which impressed me that much. Next up were TV On The Radio on the Which Stage. This is a band that I have grown quite fond of recently so I was looking forward to seeing them. When they started the sound was terrible and I was afraid it was going to be a terrible gig but the sound desk got their levels sorted and in the end it was a great show which I really enjoyed. David Byrne was playing an hour later so we headed back to the RV to have a quick rest. Emer isn't a massive David Byrne fan so she decided to have a nap as we were planning on having a late one so I headed back in on my own. I managed to bump into most of the New York 9 from next door at David Byrne, which was amazing by the way. He played a load of Talking Heads tracks but the stage show is what really made it. Everything was choreographed so that all the musicians and the various other on stage were dancing as the music was going on. The singers would step out at various imes to sing their lines and then seamlessly join back in. I grew up listening to The Talking Heads so it was really great to be able to see him play them live. Another highlight of the weekend.

Phish were playing the first of their two headline shows after this so I went with the lads to see the start of it. I'm not a Phish fan by any strectch of the imagination but I wanted to see what all these Americans were going on about. THe second the music started hundreds of glow sticks were thrown into thae air from various people dotted around the crowd. It was amazing to see as the band jammed up on stage all these coloured sticks were flying around the crowd. And it just didn't let up. I stayed for about 20 minutes and they were only on their second song - I saw their whole show on the Sunday so I'll describe it much more at that point but at this time I headed back to wake up Emer. Paul Oakenfold was due to play a set from 2.15 until 4 so Emer knew she would need a nap if she would be able to survive until that time. I got back and had a few beers while I waited for 2am to come. Emer wasn't in the mood for dancing so I headed off to meet Ian and Graham who were looking forward to it too. I met up with the lads at "This" Tent, one of the three main tents at the festival, the others being "That" Tent and "The Other" Tent. He came on around 2.30 and a while later I was surprised to see Emer. Rachel, one of the 9, had gone back to get some food and persuaded Emer to come dancing. Nearly all of us were in the tent dancing around half 3. He was due to finish at 4 so a few of the others headed back shortly before as they were so tired. 4am came and he showed no sign of finishing. We continued dancing thinking he could finish at any moment. 5am and still no let up, only 5 of us were left at this stage. 5.30am and the sun had risen completely and the crowd had thinned considerably. Myself, Emer, Lisa, Ian and Graham remained. Ian and Graham had had enough at this stage so Emer headed back with them but myself and Lisa danced on defiantely. He finally finished at 6am and the two of us headed back to rest our weary bodies.

The sun was out early the following morning so I was up way earlier than I wanted to be. The first band I wanted to see were Of Montreal at 5.15 so we chilled out at the RV's, cooked some burgers, had cool showers in the RV and had a couple of beers in the afternoon. We headed in for the gig and got there just as it started. Emer isn't a massive fan so let me push my way in while she stayed back and went shopping at all the hippy stalls. It was on in "This" Tent so I knew exactly where I needed to get to to be on higher ground and be able to see. What a show these guys put on, they are all dressed up and have vearious things happening on stage during the songs. Like 2 people dressed in suits with a bear head and a tiger head fighting or a monkey in a suit getting bottled by a ninja. All very surreal. They finished with my favourite song and all bashed up the stage, smashing their instruments, throwing them into the crowd and then going crowd surfing. Absolutely brilliant!! The Mars Volta were on next on the "Which" Stage so I went up close for this as Emer coninued shopping as these are one of the bands she hates and I love. They were very good but were nothing on the last time I had seen them when I went on a lads weekend to London. Still quite enjoyable. After them I met back up with Emer and we headed to the "What" Stage to see Bruce Springsteen who was due on at 9pm. He didn't start until 9.30 but still played for 3 full hours without letting up, backed by the supremely talented E Street Band. They had a request section in the middle of the show where Bruce collects signs from the crowd and they play some of them - one of them being "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" in the Tennesse heat. He puts on quite a show and has a massive back catalogue, alot of which I wouldn't really know but there is no denying how much of an entertainer he is. He finished off with alot of the hits that I know like "Rosalita" and "Glory Days" so I was happy. We were both quite tired afterwards but I had one more band I wanted to see - Nine Inch Nails, so we headed back over to the "Which" Stage. After a couple of songs Emer had seen enough and headed back to the RV but there was no way I was going to miss any of it, this being their last ever show in the US. It was really good, full of smoke, bright lights, loud music and a wide range of their catalogue. Around 3am they left the stage and I finally got to go to bed, I was knackered after the two late nights. It was definitely worth it though as they were really good, bringing on a new rock band to play the final song with them.

Thankfully it wasn't as hot on Sunday morning so we got to sleep a bit later. As alot of people have to leave to be in work and stuff like that Sunday isn't packed with too many headliners. This meant that we got to relax and recover in the afternoon before we headed in for Snoop Dogg after 6. He was exactly as I expected, full of rhyming and swearing but thoroughly enjoyable. Phish were on after him on the "What" Stage (the main one) so we headed up a bit and got close to the sound stage so people could meet up with us later. Phish came on around half 8 to exactly the same start, hundreds and hundreds of glow sticks being thrown all around the crowd. Their music, live at least, seems to be very similar - 1 minute of a song and then a massive solo for the lead guitarist to play and the crowd to go wild about. It was quite enjoyable, especially when Bruce Springsteen came on for the last three songs - Mustang Sally, a song I didn't recognise and Glory Days. All of them Phish-style with loads of guitar soloing thrown in. You could tell that Bruce was having a great time with all the soloing on stage and they all left to thunderous applause and cheering from the crowd. There was then a 20-30 minute part where the house lights went on but nobody left and then Phish were back on playing again. Apparantely they do it all the time but I thought it was weird the way it happened. Back they were and they played for another hour/hour and a half. I found this quite tedious at it seemed to be exactly the same as what had gone before - 1 minute of a song and then loads and loads and loads of soloing by the guitarist. It was good to see a full Phish show and I can see why people follow them but it is quite 1-dimensional after a while. We wandered around a little bit, got some funnel cake (amazing - basically fried dough) and headed back to the RV for a bit of a party. It was to be Graham's and Lisa's birthday the following week so we had a bit of a celebration for them. There were sparklers, booze and a Pinada which got well and truly bashed by our baseball bat. It was good fun as we all enjoyed the final few hours in the farm.

That was Marks Sunday, mine started out the same with some relaxing in the sun and then I decided to hang out with the girls for the day. I hadn't been to the silent disco yet and they were planning to go early as it closed down for the weekend at 7pm. So Rachel, Steph and myself headed straight to it and listened to many popular songs being mixed together and we danced around with our giant yellow headsets. It was a lot of fun. After this we sat in the sun and got some food from the stalls around us followed by some ice-cream. We then met up with Kelly and headed into see Phish. They started off and as Mark said they sing for a bit and then go off on a massive solo for about 20 mins. I enjoy a jamming session at times but this was just too much. Kelly didn't like them too much either so we decided to leave after about an hour. She hadn't seen any of the stalls so we decided that we would walk around and look at the few that were still lying around. She found a stall with coconut jewelry and bought a ton of stuff but I have to say if I had any money on me I probably would have as well. We then passed trough the cafe there where they were selling off everything for a $1 so we bought bagles for the next morning for everyone. We then headed back to the RV and we set up the joint birthday parties for Lisa and Graham. I set up all the chairs around. Kellly got the neighbours tiki torches, I filled up the piñata and tied it up. Eventually the lads came back and the party was kicked off. It was a great way to end the weekend.

When we got up the following morning we were one of the few RV's left in the place, it was quite strange to look at what used to be a wall of vehicles and only see grass and bags of rubbish instead. We tidied up and messed around for a while and in the afternoon we hit the road. The big RV was heading north back to Pennsylvania but we had to go to Nashville to collect our insurance cheque. Graham was getting a flight from Nashville so we were able to give him a lift which he was quite grateful for. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for some food (where we tried biscuits for the first time - basically really soft sweet scones) and got him to his flight in plenty of time. We then rejoined the Interstate system and headed north back up to Chicago for our next adventure.