Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

While in Cleveland, Gena & Bluey decided we had to check out the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame/ Museum. Out the front of this place was at least 30 huge guitars, setting the standard for the 6 floored museum. While Bailey and I couldn't really relate to many of the bands and music, I must say I think Gena & Bluey thoroughly enjoyed not having to put up with us for a while since we spent most of our time looking at records and posters in the gift shop.
~Riley

Well, I would like my 2 cents worth! What a collection of music history - this place was amazing. Some awesome documentaries, so much memorabilia it was crazy, going right back to the 50's & 60's, it really was a walk through rock & roll history. Buddy Holly, the Motown era, Elvis, Beetles,  Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson etc. etc. You name them, they were covered and in grand style. If you ever get to Cleveland, you must spend a day here.
~Bluey

The giant guitars outside the Rock & Roll HOF

A few keen guitarists

that's looks more like it.....

The 1933 Ford Eliminator Coupe used by ZZ Top in the 'Gimme all ya lovin' video 

and later on the Éliminator' album cover

A large scale version of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'

We then covered off 3 states and a Province in a matter of 4 hours. Starting in Ohio, we went through Pennsylvania, then into New York (State) and on to Ontario, Canada - home of the Niagara Falls. It took a while to find our hotel, once we made it to our room, the view was spectacular, right over the world famous Niagara Falls (the Horseshoe).We took a walk down to Fallsview Drive and had a close up look at both sides of the falls all lit up at night, and I think we must have taken 50 photos!

We arrived at Niagara falls at night - and this was the view we saw from our room when we stepped in

 

The falls during the light show

Bailey getting in on the action

~Riley.

Cedar Point

Today we were off to the roller coaster capital of the world - voted best theme park 14 years in a row, Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Unfortunately we arrived on the last day of Ohio Summer Holidays so the place was pretty packed. We planned to buy fast passes, until we heard the price, but we went back and got them after making it onto 2 rides in 2.5 hours! In the next 6 hours though I reckon Bailey & I rode at least 50 coasters, including the 5 times voted best roller coaster the world - Millennium Force

When Millenium Force opened in 2000, it broke numerous records, some of which still stand today.

•              First ever complete circuit roller coaster to top 300 feet (91 m)
•              Tallest complete circuit roller coaster - 310 feet (94 m)
•              Longest drop on a complete circuit roller coaster - 300 feet (91 m)
•              Fastest complete circuit roller coaster - 93 miles per hour (150 km/h)
•              Steepest non-inversion banked turn on a roller coaster (122°) (Half Corkscrew)
•              First roller coaster to utilize a cable lift system
•              First roller coaster to feature magnetic braking system

When Millenium Force opened in 2000, it broke numerous records, some of which still stand today.    

Not only does Cedar Point have the best coaster, it has the 8th and 9th best, the 8th being the Top Thrill
Dragster (shown below).

It takes 17 seconds for the ride to launch 420ft(130m) and back down at 120mph(190km) and broke these records:

    §               World's tallest complete circuit roller coaster

    §               World's tallest roller coaster

    §               World's tallest roller coaster drop

    §               World's fastest roller coaster

The last roller coaster on the top 10 list is the Magnum XL-200, built in 1989 is easily the oldest on the list.

When this opened it was the World's Tallest & Fastest Coaster. Also when Roller Coaster rankings started in 1998, it was ranked 1st in the first 3 years and has been in the top 10 every year since.

Other favorite coasters included the Mantis, where you stood up while riding (7th highest vertical loop in world) and the Maverick, a bloody intense coaster! (8th steepest drop in the world).

At 8:45pm we left the park, Bailey feeling sick from being thrown about all day, and we have just made it to Cleveland, where we will spend the day tomorrow, then move onto Niagara Falls tomorrow night.

~Riley.

Detroit, MI

Motor City, the birth of the motor car, also the Home of Motown - but also the highest crime rate in the USA.

After some more Outlet shopping on the way and then an accident on the freeway up in front of us, we didn't arrive in Detroit until around 9.15pm. We checked in to our room and before we even settled, we were gone again. We were heading around to catch up with Bluey's mate from home, Jeff DeVries, who lives over here with his wife, Missy, and his 2 kids Jack and Scarlett. We didn't intend to stay too long, as Jeff had to be at work by 6.00am in the morning - but it was still 1.00am when we left. As Bluey and Jeff discussed, only Aussies would rock up to someone's house at 10.00pm just to say g'day during the working week.

Jeff, Missy, Scarlett & Jack (with their 3 cats)

The next morning we went out to a roller skating rink with them. Jeff, Missy and Scarlett on skates, Bailey & I on blades. Gena flat out refused to entertain the idea of joining in, Bluey was using his crook back as his excuse. Afterwards we all had dinner at Mexican Fiesta - great feed (and massive).

Bailey started out a little wary....

..... but then started to provide a bit of entertainment

Whoops - I don't think that was in the game plan

After dinner Bailey, Bluey, Jack and I went to the Detroit Tigers vs LA Angels game at Comerica Park, in down-town Detroit. It was a very tight game until the Tigers hit the lead in the 8th inning. There is nothing like the home team coming from behind to hit the lead in a game over here - the crowd was going absolutely wild! The Tigers won 5-3 and just about the whole crowd stayed after the match for the awesome 30 minute fireworks display. After the game I put $30 in to a 50/50 where you can either win an autographed ball or a game used ball. I've wanted an autographed ball for ages but unfortunately I got a ball that Miguel Cabrerra (one of the best players in baseball) hit for a double - unfortunate because it wasn't signed.

Miguel Cabrera winds up.........

... and launches one down the left field line

The next day we took a trip to Muskegon to go to Michigan Adventure Park, half rollercoasters, half water park. It was a 3 hour drive to get there but when we arrived it was steaming hot, so first on the agenda was to hit up every waterslide. After about 3-4 hours Jack and I went over to the roller coasters, joined by everyone else when they finished in the water park. First up was a hanging coaster that kept you upside down half the ride! Among other coasters included the worlds longest, and steepest wooden roller coaster.

If you click on the photo, you may be able to make us out, filling the back 3 rows

It may not look much, but Shivering Timbers really let rip

Near the end of the day the heavens opened up, and we took that as our cue to leave, stopping only to eat at Denny's. Despite not returning until about 10.30pm, I had organised to stay the night at Jack's place, where we watched movies and played X-Box until the early hours.

Today we went to the Henry Ford Museum. Bluey and I were expecting a museum of Ford Cars, until we realised it was basically a national museum of American History! It had the car John F. Kennedy was shot in, the chair Abraham Lincoln died in - blood stains and all! It had an engineering site, first planes, history of vehicles, steam trains, the first ever oil tanker, you name it, it had it! We were there by 11:00am and didn't leave until 5:00pm when it closed. Even then we probably only saw 75% of the museum.

This is the seat JFK was sitting in when he was assassinated

This monster steam train was only in service for 15 years through the 30's & 40's 

before being replaced by more efficient diesel models

The first mass produced assembly line vehicle that set the tone for car manufacturing going forward 

- the Model T Ford - available in any color (as long as it was black)

A 1939 Dodge Airflow tanker - the picture doesn't do this justice,

the amount of thought and detail that went into this has to be seen to be believed 

A exact replica of the Wright Brother's first plane, built and flown at Kitty Hawk 

This version was flown 100 years later to the day to commemorate that historic first flight

This is the actual chair in which President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865. It was originally located in the President's special box in Ford's Theatre in Washington DC. 

The blood stains can still be seen on the back of the seat.

Tonight we went out for dinner at a Thai restaurant, great food, and then said our good-byes to Jeff, Miss, Jack and Scarlett, since this was our last night and we leave early tomorrow morning it was the last time on this trip that we were going to see them.

More updates soon.
~Riley.

Chicago - so much to do

We had grand plans today of visiting the Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, the Museum of Contemporary Art & the Field Museum. Well, we got to half. We spent nearly 4 hours at the Aquarium and were pretty well buggered by the time we got out of there. It was very good though. Easily the biggest Bulega Whales I have seen in an aquarium. They had a special exhibit of Jelly Fish, which I must admit, I thought would be really boring but there were jelly fish that I didn't know existed and they were actually interesting. Whilst there we also got to see a 4D Ice Age movie, which was fantastic - especially when a dinosaur sneezed and we got wet.

I'm not sure but I reckon these Ringed Sawback Turtles were actually posing

A Northeast Pacific Sea Nettle

We covered off every part of the aquarium before moving across to the Planetarium. Here, we watched a young science student showing us the effects of air pressure/vacuum has on objects. He was able to show us the importance of space suits and why they must be worn in space, using items such as shaving cream, water and a marshmallow. We got to see a very interesting 3D movie on how the Sun is monitored 3 dimensionally these days. It is done with NASA's twin sun-watching STEREO spacecraft. One is positioned in orbit in front of Earth, the other positioned in orbit behind the Earth quite incredible how it is done. 

A view of the magnificent Chicago from the Planetarium

Gena thought it would be a great idea to catch the double decker bus back to the city centre so we could soak in a little more Chicago knowledge. Unfortunately, after waiting 15 minutes, Riley & Bailey needed to go to the loo - of course that is when the bus showed up. They said not to worry though, there will another one along in 15 minutes - after 40 minutes, we gave up and caught the transit back into town. Gena, Bluey & Bailey did take the opportunity to have a little spell under a tree near the bus stop.

Gena with Chicago in the background

Some people have the life

Okay, we are off again tomorrow. We will be heading to Detroit, and Bluey will be catching up with an old mate from home in Jeff DeVries, who has been working in the USA for a number of years. We have been looking forward to that for a while.

~Riley

Chicago's Willis Tower Skydeck

I've never been so happy to get back to the hotel room in my life. What a huge day, and we have one just as big tomorrow! After breakfast we took the bus down-town and got on the trolley with a riding tour guide. We jumped off on State St and walked 11 blocks all the way to the Willis Tower, formerly Sears Tower, where we went all the way up to the 103rd floor. Once there, we stepped out onto a box with glass 3cm thick, that protrudes outside of the building. I've never done anything like it before, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

That is a long way down

Even Gena braved it out onto the glass

Once we were done with that, it took 45 minutes of walking in circles - or squares - until we got a bus down to Navy Pier. We booked our tickets on  the Tall Ship 'Windy', where we would be taken out on a cruise of Lake Michigan (a lake bigger than New Hampshire & Vermont put together). While we were waiting for 4:00pm to come around we went and played a round of Mini-Golf. Guess who won? Still giving Bluey sh*t about it (;

The time had come for our voyage out on the Tall Ship. Bluey & I were recruited to assist in hoisting the sails once out of the dock (it seemed like a good idea at the time - but in truth, was very hard work. There were 'pirates' on board that put on a re-enactment of the 1812 US-British war, which was very entertaining. Bailey, being Bailey, approached the Captain and asked if he could steer the ship for a while and what do you know - the captain said yes. We have never seen Bailey concentrate so hard or listen to instructions like he did today. Overall, we all thought it was a great experience, the fact that it had a bar was the clincher for Bluey.

Bluey hoisting the Main Sail

Chicago from Lake Michigan

Captain Bailey at the Helm

We had some tickets left for the rides so we went and played another round of mini-golf (apparently the first game was a warm up). And accordingly I won again, didn't celebrate way over the top either.. They had a ride call the 'Wave Swinger', a ride that basically spun you in a circle for 5 minutes. Bailey went on it first, then I went on it with him on the second time. Once we got off the second Bailey was gone - couldn't find him. I went back to where Gena & Bluey were to find them laughing, I followed their eye-sight to see Bailey, head over a rubbish bin, draining the contents of his stomach out his mouth. Problem is the little bugger came back brand new, wasn't sick or anything.

Not sure this was supposed to be happening in mid-flight?

Bailey just before he tossed the cookies........

We were going to finish the day with a trip to the Aquarium but we were all wrecked. As we were walking out of Navy Pier, a waiter got talked to us and next thing you know, we are dining at his Italian Restaurant. I'm really glad we did, it was delicious and we didn't have to walk any further - perfect meal if you ask me.

Got an early morning tomorrow, trying to fit in all the museums, art galleries, aquariums etc. Gonna be another huge day for our last full day in Chicago before we leave for Detroit!

~Riley.

Wrigley Field - 98 years of history

Whilst we left Gena with a recharged Credit Card to hit up the 'Nine West' shoe shop around the corner, Bluey Bailey & I headed up the road to the iconic Wrigley Field for a Tour of this historic baseball field - so named after the Cub's long time owner, William Wrigley of the famous Wrigley's chewing gum fame (did you know that Juicy Fruit was first made in 1893 and so began the world's most popular and successful gum that is still sold today). There is actually a massive history from 1914 up to it being named Wrigley Field in 1927 but it would take too long to explain it all here.

The famous Wrigley Field entrance

Back to the tour - we were off to a good start as Bluey remembered the camera this time. There was a group of about 50 (and at $25/person with 6 tours a day, they may be making more money on tours than baseball?) and off we went on our tour. We sat down in some bloody nice seats behind home plate, while Tom - our tour guide - gave us quite a good history of Wrigley Field - why it was built, how it ended up as the Cubs home field, and why the famous Ivy Wall is there. During the tour we got access to the 'Budweiser Party Deck', the bleachers, the away team's dug-out & clubhouse. A place where player's like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig and even Michael Jordan (remember he tried to play professional baseball after he retired from basketball) have sat. To finish off we went up to the press box, went down into the Cubs 'Cubhouse', and back out onto the field. I'll admit the 2nd oldest stadium in MLB (behind Boston's Fenway Park) - built in 1914 - is just as nice as the new ones!

The view from the Press Box

Our tour guide, Tom, giving us some amazing insight into this storied stadium

A view of the Ivy Wall from the Budweiser Party Deck - notice the stands up the back of the picture......

...... they are actually over the street from the ground and sold each game by the 

building owners who sell the tickets inclusive of food and beverages

Wrigley Field's iconic Scoreboard - the only manually operated scoreboard in MLB

is now Heritage listed, thus will remain at Wrigley Field as long as it stays erected

Inside the Cubs Clubhouse

Bailey & Riley sitting in the Cubs' dugout

When we got back to Gena, she let us know she bought 2 pairs of shoes - 8 pairs less then I expected her to buy since they are 80-90% cheaper then what they are in Austalia. We got a quick bite to eat before we were on the bus headed for down town Chicago. First on the agenda was the John Hancock Observatory,  the second tallest building in the city. It gave us a guided tour to go with the 360 degree view in the heart of the city.

Once this was done we were straight on to a cruise down Chicago River highlighting all the architectural features in the city. Wow, there is a sh*t load of thought put into some of these buildings! But with all the hard work it pays off with the end results, Chicago is actually used as the scenes in Gotham City for the Batman trilogy of movies. There are also what are called 'hovering skycrapers' which are basically 80 storey buildings, built on 3 feet of cement, above the train lines. Somehow they focus all the weight at the top of the building instead of at the base, but photos cannot do it justice at all!

Once the cruise was finished we crashed back at our room, getting some dinner from an asian store down the street, photos coming soon.

~Riley.

Chicago

We left Milwaukee this morning for the relatively short journey South, down to Chicago. Even though it was only 2 hours away, it did take us 6 hours to get there. See, there happened to be an Outlets Centre (like a DFO at home) about half way to the Windy City - and these days only spending 4 hours there was pretty good for us. Mind you, the poor old credit card needed resuscitation by the time we had left. The other thing that happened was an almighty downpour just before we were leaving. It meant we had a fairly hairy, half an hour or so trip before the skies finally cleared into what turned out to be really nice weather in Chicago.

We checked into our accommodation in Lincoln Park and jumped into the car for a drive into the heart of the city where we decided on going to Navy Pier. Originally called Municipal Pier, in 1927 it was renamed Navy Pier as a tribute to Navy personnel in the 1st World War. Navy Pier was used for pilot training in preparation for World War II, and some 15,000 pilots where qualified here. Mind you, there is supposed to be around 200 World War II planes at the bottom of Lake Michigan as a result of training accidents from this period. The home of many trade shows and fairs over the last century, it is used almost exclusively for festivals and entertainment these days - incorporating the Shakespear Theatre, an Imax cinema, restaurants, convention centres and a Museum among many other purposes.

On the way home, we went past Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs), possibly the most famous and traditional Baseball stadium in the world. Whilst we are not going to be able to see a game there (as the Cubs are on the road this week), we will definitely fit in a tour of this much loved ball park. Can't wait to tell you all about that - and Bluey might even remember the camera this time.

More updates soon.

Milwaukee - Home of Harley-Davidson & Happy Days

Our day started out great today - we booked in to have Brunch across the road at the Ambassador Hotel. For $16.95 you could order anything off the menu you liked and order as many different dishes as you wanted. We all got our fill, but Gena took it to a new level - 4 different plates, Bluey was horrified. Whilst eating brunch, we were made aware that there was Irish Fest was on in Milwaukee. Without hesitation, we caught the shuttle bus downtown to check it out.

The Irish Festival was a sea of green, lots of beer drinkers, bands all over, and a lot of Irish Dancing! At 1:30pm it started pelting rain, and we were stuck under a covered area. Bluey was lamenting the fact that if we were to be stuck in the rain - we at least could have been stuck in a bar. As if meant to be, no more than 2 minutes later, we saw people near us heading up a stairway. We figured that if we couldn't do anything, at least we could be up higher and see what was happening, so we headed up the stairs. What would you know - there was a what looked like a bar up there. What we didn't know was that we had accidentally crashed a private function. Introductions were made with John behind the bar and although I initially thought he had picked us as Aussies, he actually thought we said we were Irish. Bluey tried to buy a beer and John told him not to worry, there function was finished but the keg hadn't been turned off. So for the next hour or so, we sat there getting to know John, his wife Kate and their family, whilst Bluey & Gena were getting free beers. We were blown away when we found out that their son Liam (who was 6'2") was only 12 years old. He is only a year older than Bailey but a foot & a half taller. We many many of John & Kate's friends as well - people in Milwaukee are really friendly. Trust us to pick the balcony with the nice people and the free beer!

These young dancers were very entertaining

When it rains in Milwaukee - it really rains

Bluey with John upstairs - keeping out of the rain

Bluey with the Leprechaun & friend

Gena, Bailey and I returned to our hotel after this but Bluey figured he may not get back to Milwaukee again so he had better visit the Harley-Davidson Museum before he left (loves his museums does Bluey) and he had the shuttle driver drop him there where he proceeded to spend the next 3 hours looking over the history of the company formed by William Harley and his childhood friend, Arthur Davidson way back in 1903 right here in Milwaukee.

The oldest surviving Harley-Davidson - built in 1903 (note the leather drive belt)

..... and how the engines have changed

despite there being hundreds of bikes on display, there are hundreds more being restored at the Museum

The 2 bikes ridden by Peter Fonda & Dennis Hopper in the legendary 1969 movie - Easy Rider 

We were told about a funky bar/restaurant downtown that would be fun to try for dinner. It was called 'The Safe House' and it ran on a spy theme. When we first entered the building which was very well disguised, we stepped into a room that had no doors at all. We were told that we needed the password before we could do anything. Of course we didn't know it, so we were asked to stand against the back wall and were directed to follow a few instructions to allow us to enter. We had to imitate a bird before laying an egg, which we did but Gena was getting right into the role - a little too much? Once happy with our ability to follow instructions, a hidden door opened up and into the restaurant we went - to rousing applause from the people already inside who were watching us on the closed circuit televisions. As Bluey pointed out, in all of the bars he has been inside in his lifetime, it is definitely the first time he has had an ovation upon entering.

The waitress (or Agent Spy) as they called themselves, gave a clue sheet in which we had to find things throughout the place and solve several riddles which was a lot of fun. After dinner, we went for a walk along the riverwalk before calling the shuttle bus to come and pick us up again.

Milwaukee is a great city, and Bluey says a pleasure to drive around and I hope to get back here one day.