American Travels, week 3 part one

Day fifteen, Friday 10th of August

time to chillax

We wanted to go out on friday evening, so we just used the day to relax and take a rest from our heavy travelling. I updated the blog and then we watched some Doctor Who on dvd. At about seven we went to Billy's favorite bar Chumley's. Not only was there a free barbeque provided by Clem, but we were also treated to a live broadcast of the presidential candidates talking about GLBT (Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) issues, which provided quite a few topics for conversation. At about 11:45 Pm we moved on to the Brewery to meet up with Steve and see the band Mr. hand play.


Billy, Steve & me

Day sixteen, Saturday 11th of August

knoebels grove

On saturday we set out for Knoebels Grove, an old-fashioned family park about two hours from State College. The main reason we were there was the 13th annual GLBT picnic that we were invited to. It's a yearly event at Knoebels Grove hosted by Mike & Mike. We got some nice salads from the Wegmans salad bar as our contribution to the picnic. After we finally found a place to park (it seemed this was the busiest day of the year at the park) we found the pavillion that was brightly decorated with flags and windsocks and got ourselves signed in. There was already a huge amount of food donated for the picnic but there was still some room for our salads. After meeting up with Mike & Mike and buying our raffle tickets, we ventured into the park to go ride some rides. We started on the giant wheel and then proceeded to mr.twister, a wooden rollercoaster.


Giant wheel & GLBT picnic

lunch and thrills

At about three the pavillion was filling up with guests and after a few introductory words from Mike, it was time for the food! Two lines were formed on either side of the buffet and it was literally full of amazing hot dishes, ranging from meatballs to chicken and baked beans, a dazzling arrangement of salads, snacks and another table filled with desserts and cakes. It was really difficult to make a selection as everything looked so tasty.





The lunch was followed by the awarding of 'door prizes'1 to the guests, for instance the oldest man and oldest woman, the youngest guest,a nd best of all: the guest that traveled the farthest. There was a lively debate wether France or Holland was the farthest, (in fact the distance between there and Groningen is 3779.0 miles(6082.0 km)) but in the end it was pronounced a draw and we both ended up getting one of the door prizes, a scented candle from the Martha Stewart collection. Then I was interviewed by a local journalist who was doing a piece on the GLBT picnic and asked me about my views and experiences in the US. The rest of the afternoon was spent sampling the many delights of Knoebels grove, riding the high speed thrill coaster, the Cosmatron, the haunted house, the Phoenix (another classic wooden coaster) and the flume. By the time we were driving home it was already dark, but we could look back on a saturday well spent.

1) At a party or gathering, a door prize may be awarded to one or more of those attending via a raffle or drawing.

Day seventeen, Sunday 12th of August

death by chocolate

Our original plan for the sunday was to visit the Palmer Museum of Art, but after finding our way through the myriad construction sites and detours we found that it was actually closed. Instead we walked over to Billy's College and dorm building and then on to the Creamery. the creamery is an ice-cream and dairy shop owned and run by the university. There we sampled the fresh ice cream, death by chocolate for me and frozen yoghurt pina colada for Billy.



Great nipple of the north

family dinner

We had arranged to have dinner at Billy's parents at five, so about five thirty we drove into Rebersburg with our laundry where a delicious roast beef dinner was waiting for us. I had suggested a nice home cooked meal, and that was exactly what we got. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, red beets and vegetables, as well as some of Jeanne's home made bread. It was great. To top it all off we got a triple layered chocolate cake at Wegmans. Unfortunately our plan of watching the Perseids was thwarted by rainclouds, so instead we went for a drive (with me driving!) and a quick game of windblown badminton on the yard. When our laundry was done we left the oldies to their pursuits.

Day eighteen, Monday 13th of August

grand canyon

Billy's dad had suggested during dinner on sunday that we visit the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, so we decided to have a picnic and a hike. We packed our hamburgers, potato salad and utensils and drove the two hours to Colton point state park. The website says it's rugged and rustic and that's exactly what it was. On our 1,5 mile hike down the canyon we only encountered one other group of hikers, so it seemed we had the park all to ourselves. The hike was both exhilirating and dangerous but the views of waterfalls and rock formations made it all worth it.



Pennsylvania Grand Canyon

existenz

On our way back home we went by Mike's movies and music and picked up Existenz, as Billy had never seen it, as well as season one of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, one of Billy's favorite cartoon series.

American Travels, week 2 part two

Day thirteen, Wednesday 8th of August

niagara falls

Of course we had to try again! On wednesday morning the skies were clear and everything looked set to go much better than the day before. After all the strange incidents of the day before, this day seemed set to be perfect. After deciding to make Niagara Falls a two-day trip, we booked a budget hotel in Olean NY on the internet. That way we could stay in Niagara Falls as late as we wanted to, without having to drive all the way back home afterwards. The drive went really smoothly and after checking in at the hotel and having a rest, we were off to Buffalo and Niagara Falls!

Buffalo is the second largest city in the state of New York, but mostly what we saw of it was the industrial area skirting Lake Erie and the Niagara River. After paying $0.75 to cross the bridge, we finally arrived at our destination. Unfortunately it seemed all of the commercial tour-operators were allowed to have signs saying: visitors centre, so it took us some time to actually find an official one. By then we were already parked a few minutes walk from the actual falls. So we took our cameras and our water and headed out on foot. It was a short walk through a beautiful (protected) parkland area that lead us to the amazing sight of the falls on the American side. Even from a distance you could feel and hear the incredible power of all that water rushing down the falls. Looking down you have the sensation of being very small, compared to this awe-inspiring spectacle created by nature. The bright sunlight reflected in the foaming water gives everything a heavenly glow.

American falls

canada

After having feasted our eyes and ears and cameras on the spectacle from every possible angle, we decided to venture over the rainbow bridge of friendship, understanding and peaceuful magical cooperation to the Canadian side. Here the view was possibly even more impressive. I'll add some pictures to give an impression of what it looked like, but it's an experience that's almost impossible to recreate. Even though the Canadian side of the falls is dominated by huge hotels and casinos, the pedestrian areas are very well laid out and very accesible for everyone. We walked down the entire promenade that borders the falls and the Niagara river to a spot just beyond the great Horseshoe falls. It was our plan to do at least one of the two trips down into the falls, as well as have dinner at the Skylon tower which houses a panorama deck as well as a revolving restaurant. Unfortunately the prices for the dinner were out of all proportion, so we decided not to go there and just have some subs instead. By then the line for the 'Journey behind the falls' had become much shorter and we could walk right in. After having our 'virtual' Niagara Falls picture taken and donning our complementary rainslickers, we were ready to take the elevators down to the water level and experience the waterfalls from the inside. The best pasrt was standing on the platform and feeling the riverwater splash on you, like standing in the middle of a rainstorm.

Canadian falls

lights & fireworks

Slowly the light had been fading and it was time to go up again and see the last part of the days amazing visuals, the lighting of the falls and the fireworks. Again we were reminded of how lucky we were to have had a flat tire, as the fireworks display was only on the wednesdays and the weekend! As night fell we found a cosy place to sit and watch the spectacle. The water and the lights seemed to attract a specific type of flying insect that filled the sky around us and crowded around the spotlights. Even so, the wonderful fireworks were a perfect close to an unforgettable day. On the drive home to the hotel, our carriage seemed to be changing back into a pumpkin as we found ourselves driving through thick fog in the dark with a almost empty tank. Just moments before our fuel ran out we finally spotted a gas station, and saw that we were almost at the hotel.

Journey behind the falls

Lights and fireworks

Day fourteen, Thursday 9th of August

ellicottville

After a good night's sleep and a 'continental' breakfast at the microtel inn in Olean we played some badminton in the parking lot and then set out towards the town of Ellicottville. This picturesque ski-resort had been recommended to us by Ben in Punxutawney, and it was just as nice as he said it would be! We parked on main street and had a walk around town, checking out the local shops and getting some info on the local lunch possibilities. We decided to have lunch at a place called 'Balloons'. While we were there the weather changed from sunny and hot to hot and wet, with fierce rain accompanying our departure from New York state, but not untill we had a chance to get a local delicacy called spongecandy, a sugary spongy interior covered with chocolate!

Ellicottville, NY

bellefonte

Just before we got back to State College we stopped in beautiful victorian Bellefonte. The rain had stopped, but the air was still warm and humid. We took a small walk around the park and the historical trainstation.

Victorian Bellefonte

American Travels, week 2 part one

Day eight, Friday 3d of August

penn's cave

After the long journey to Falling water, we decided to stay a bit closer to home and drive to a famous local sight, Penn's Cave. Penn's cave is a set of beautiful underground rooms you can visit by taking a boatride through them, as they're all underwater. It is one of the oldest tourist attractions in Pennsylvania. By coincidence our guide through the caves was an old schoolfriend of Billys and he was clearly having fun showing us the strange rockformations and their nicknames. Unfortunately we weren't able to experience the total darkness inside the cave, as there were small children on the tour that were still afraid of the dark (or maybe their parents were).


Penn's Cave

drive-in

After dinner we went to the Drive In movie theater called the Starlite drive-in. I had always wanted to go to a drive-in, and as it happens there is still one operating in State College. For just $5 per car you can get in and see two movies! The sound is broadcast on a radio channel to your car stereo. Today we saw the Simpsons and Transformers! There is also a concessions stand were you can get popcorn, candy, pizza and drinks. Fortunately we got there early and found a spot right at the front, were we had a great view of the screen, instead of being behind the trucks.


At the drive-in

Day nine, Saturday 4th of August

monkey boy

On saturday we went to Billy's workplace to print out our tickets for Sixflags and to begin writing my travel diary. Kris had invited us out to dinner, so we were set to meet him at 6pm. By coincidence Steve was also nearby and we decided to have dinner all together and then go out for drinks. First we watched some more youtube and then drove to Home delivery to have dinner. Contrary to what the name might suggest, you can also eat there. After dinner we went to the Saloon, a bar that had some live music programmed. we started of by drinking a 'monkey boy' which is basically all different kinds of liquour poured into a pitcher with ice and fruit juice, topped with sugared cherries. It's so big you really don't need to get anything else. The coverband was really good and after a few rounds of doing the Penn State yell and some dancing, the night came to a satisfactory end.

Day ten, Sunday 5th of August

woodward cave

After drinking lots of water to take care of our hangovers we drove to Aaronsburg to have lunch (breakfast for us) with the Wolf family which is Jeanne's side of the family. We gathered at Lynda's Country Cooking and had a nice brunch while I was introduced to everyone. Afterwards we drove a few miles to the Woodward cave, just outside of Bald Eagle state forest. This is a 'dry cave' unlike the one at Penn's cave and doesn't have that many formations. It does however host a number of different bats and some amazingly shaped tunnels as well as huge, open rooms. The tour consisted of us and another couple so we had ample opportunity to see everything and experience the cave with little interference, including the absolute darkness. We asked the tourguide for a good place to go swimming nearby and she recomennded Poe Valley state park.


Woodward Cave

swimming

After a wonderful drive through the woods we came to Poe Valley and a brand new recreation area. Unfortunately the amenities weren't finished yet so we had to do withour changing booths and toilets. Still it was a wonderful place, with perfect swimming water and a nice clean beach. Before going home we got some more delicious food at Wegmans and a Badminton set to play with on deserted parking lots.


Poe Valley and Monarch butterfly

Day eleven, Monday 6th of August

lazy thai

Another lazy day, Billy needed to go into work for a few hours so I slept late. Then we walked into town to do some shopping, visit bookstores and buy a Dali reproduction for Billy's appartment. After a game of badminton we drove into town again and had dinner at an amazing Thai restaurant called the Cosy Thai. I had always been afraid that thai food was too spicy, but actually it wasn't spicy at all but just delicious. According to some, this is the best place to eat in state college and it really lived up to its reputation. For about $30 we had two main courses, one appetiser and drinks. Now I love Thai food!


State College architecture

Day twelve, Tuesday 7th of August

Some things are just not meant to happen, or so it seems. Today was positively the weirdest day in my life ever! It all started at 6am when our alarm clock woke us up...

weirdness

We had decided to wake up early, as today we were going to drive six hours and visit Niagara falls! But as soon as we woke up we knew that sonmething wasn't right. we hadn't slept at all it seemed and billy was feeling tired. We wondered if we should postpone the trip, but then decided to go through with it. We parked our things into the car and were ooff. the day was grey and overcast and as we drove out of State College it started raining. Aboput an hour later the rain had stopped, but the car was shaking and at one point a car behind us actually flashed his headlights at us. I thought maybe the trunklid was open so we decided to pull into the nearest gas station and take a look. It turned out one of our rear tires was flat! We had been driving with a flat tire for a while so there was a big chance that the tire had been damaged. We tried inflating it, but even before it reached the normal pressure it blew. So there we were, in the middle of nowhere and in need of a new tire. Fortunately there was a Wal Mart nearby that had a car service center so we put the emergency tire on the car and drove the ten miles.


Flat tire and 'donut'

At Wal Mart they were able to provide us with a new tire but we had to wait about 45 minutes, so we used the time to do some shopping (an american flag, a Transformers T-shirt and a quick lunch). Then we were off again, but as soon as we reached the interstate there was a closed lane causing a traffic jam. All in all we were about three hours behind on schedule so we decided that Niagara falls was just not going to be happening today. After visiting a yard sale in Dubois, our new destination became Punxsutawney PA, home of Punxy Phil, the weather-predicting groundhog!

groundhogs

You might know about the movie groundhog day, starring Bill Murray, well this movie was inspired and filmed in this town, where once a year they have a festival and the groundhog predicts if the spring will come early or the winter will be longer.


Liberty Phil, real live groundhogs Phil & Phyllis and Phantastic Phils.

When we were taking pictures of the live groundhogs at the groundhog zoo, a man came up to us and started explaining some things to us about punxatawney and it's famous groundhogs. His name was Ben and as well as being a doctor at the local hospital he takes care of the groundhogs. It soon became clear tht friendly Ben was 'one of us'. He gave us some groundhog beanies and after learning of our failed plans to visit Niagara falls he recommended we stay over at a town called Ellicottville. After talking to Ben some more we said goodbye and had a walk around the town, looking for the Phantastic Phils, groundhog statues made by local artists, and visiting the local giftshop. In all Punxsutawney is a great place and the people are real friendly too!

visions of never

After visiting the site of the groundhog day festival we drove down to Altoona where there was an exhibit of fantasy art at the college art gallery. We had seen the posters advertising it all over State College so we had already planned to visit it some time. This seemed the perfect opportunity. It wasn't very easy to find the gallery though, as it was hidden away in one of the campus buildings and when we got there it was practically deserted. Fortunately there was someone there that was very pleased to have some visitors and she opened the gallery for us, leaving us to enjoy the exhibit by ourselves. It was a wonderful collection and great to see works that I had known previously but only as reproductions.

a taste of michael's

Feeling hungry and tired we decided to look for a place in Altoona to get a coffee and a bite to eat. My eyes fell on a sign saying Michaels' Cafe so I thought it might be a good place. We parked and went in, only to find out that it was actually a gourmet restaurant! We decided to give it a try though and just have dinner there. They had a special called 'a taste of Michaels' that consisted of a five course meal, where we got to choose a soup, an appetiser and a main course. These would all be half portions, but that was more than enough for us! Our taste included mushroom soup, filled mushroom caps, a shrimp martini, shrimp fettucini and crab filled salmon.

I decided to ask the maitre d' about the american usage of the words appetiser and entree (a main course in the US), as they differ from the way we use them, but unfortunately he didn't know. He did however reveal his long desire of visiting europe and went on to regale us with tales of QE2 wine bottles that turned out to be water and visiting the local gay bar in a kilt. Yes you guessed it, Ken was also 'one of us'. Somehow in all of our travels we kept finding them. After some cheesecake for dessert we drove back home, not entirely sure what the fates would have in store for us!

American Travels, week 1

Day one, Friday 27th of July

arrival

After an eight hour flight that passed without any interesting occurrences, I finally arrived in the U.S.A, and was welcomed by the friendly staff of immigration and customs. Somehow the tulip bulbs I had brought for Billy’s parents weren’t a problem, even though I had to declare them, but the date that my passport was issued was, so I was kindly asked that I open my suitcase for inspection. Of course there were only clothes and some gifts in my suitcase, but still I had to answer questions about why I was visiting the states, if it was my first time and if I had traveled to any middle-eastern countries lately. Fortunately nothing much was said about the mechanical insect that I was bringing as a gift for Billy, as it posed no real threat to the security of the country.


View of Philadelphia from the airport

Then I was released into Philadelphia on my own. I had a few hours to kill, but somehow I wasn’t ready to just wander out into the city by myself, so I stayed at the airport lounge to wait for my connecting flight. Luckily there were no delays and after another somewhat bumpy flight I landed safely in State college where Billy was already waiting for me. I couldn’t believe I was finally here! He took me home to the apartment and after showing me around we went for a late dinner at the ‘Eat and Park’. There I had my first taste of American hospitality and American food. It was delicious.

Day two, Saturday 28th of July

rebersburg

Because Billy’s parents were away, it was up to us to take care of the dogs, so we drove the 25 minutes to the pleasant village of Rebersburg, where we took advantage of the local yard sale and picked up some food from the Amish charity picnic. After that we went for a bike ride around the countryside. The weather was wonderfully warm and sunny. Unfortunately most of the yard sale was already over so we just biked around and then ate the food we had gotten before returning to the apartment. Back in State College we visited Mike’s, a video rental and picked up a few movies to watch. We took out three and decided to watch Night watch, leaving Return to Oz and Bubba Hotep for the next day.


Billy's parents' house

Day three, Sunday 29th of July

home improvement

On the third day, the effects of the long flight and the time change finally caught up with me. I wasn’t feeling very well and my legs were hurting like crazy. Also, Billy’s soft matress and couch weren’t doing my back any favors. We spent most of the day at home sorting through Billy’s stuff in an attempt to get the house in order. Yes, you heard that correctly, I was actually organizing! In between our home improvement efforts we watched a wonderful movie called Return to Oz and made hamburgers for dinner. At night we watched Bubba Hotep.


Me organizing

Day four, Monday 30th of July

state college

After a good night’s sleep and a traditional breakfast of cereal we went into State college where Billy showed me his workplace, introduced me to his coworkers and showed me around campus. Then we walked all up and down the busy streets of downtown state college while Billy pointed out all the great shops and restaurants. Our goal was to have lunch at a nice Thai place, but when we finally got there the lunch hour was over and we were left to find a replacement for our noodle needs. We ended up at the Big Bowl Noodle restaurant, and they really lived up to their name. Two huge bowls of steaming noodles! (Fried noodles with chicken for Billy, noodle soup with wontons for me, and something weird called a ‘boba’ milk tea… if you want to find out what that is you can look it up on Wikipedia. Somehow it was kind of similar to scarab eggs.

In the evening we hooked up with Billy’s friend Steve and after watching weird cartoons on youtube he took us out to dinner at Otto’s, a brewery that also serves food. There I had my first cheese steak sandwich, a Pennsylvania specialty.

Day five, Tuesday 31st of July

movietime

On tuesday we drove around state college some more, and went shopping at Wegmans. that's a big supermarket filled with gourmet foods, fresh produce and international delicacies. It also has a toy train running through the store. We had dinner at Garfields, a nice family restaurant with paper tablecloths and crayons! After dinner we went to a local cinema and watched 1408. Or at least, that was the plan. After going through almost 30 minutes of commercials and previews, the film that started was... Die Hard 4! so we had to find a manager and have them put the right film in the projector, without commercials this time! The film was really good and scary.


John Cusack in '1408'

Day six, Wednesday August 1st

forest park

Today we drove to R.B. Winters State Park (a part of Bald Eagle state forest). There is a creek with a dam in it, that has been turned into a recreational area with a beach. Before we got there though, Billy and I switched seats in the car and I actually drove a car for the first time! It wasn't really hard and there was almost no traffic on the road, so a perfect place to try it. When we got to the park we first went for a hike through the forest, up a hillside to the lookout point and then back to the little lake. there we had a picnic and went for a refreshing swim in the brown water. It was a great feeling as it was a warm day. We stayed there untill five as we had agreed to have dinner at Billy's parents'. On the road we switched seats again and I drove all the way back to Rebersburg where Billy's parents live. Driving is so much fun.


R.B. Winters State Park

When we got there the parents were out, and as it turned out, Billy's dad was in the Hospital. Fortunately he was released again a few hours later and we were all able to have dinner together. A delicious meal of sweet corn, mashed potato, wonderful grilled steaks and a perfect ratatouille Jeanne (Billy's mom) made. While dinner was being prepared we did our laundry and afterwards drove back to State College.

Day seven, Thursday August 2nd

falling water

After a few short trips around the area, finally the time had come for a longer trip, driving two and a half hours to Falling Water. Falling water is a world famous house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufman family in the 1930's. It is the only one of his houses that is completely in it's original state and it is considered the most important architectural work in the US of the 2oth century. It is located in a woodland area in the southwest of Pennsylvania near the town of Mill Run.


View of the waterfall and staircase

We didn't have a reservation to visit the house, but fortunately we didn't have to wait long, just about twenty minutes and we were taken on a guided tour of the house by a very friendly and expert guide that lived in the area. I had always been fascinated by the ideas and works of Frank lloyd Wright, but to see the house up close and actually experience it from the inside was an amazing experience. The 45 minute tour lead us all through the main house and the adjacent guest house. The servants lodging are now offices for the museum. We weren't allowed to take any photographs of the inside due to the fragile nature of the artworks, but I was able to get some images of the outside and the famous waterfalls. In all it was a dream come true and well worth the long drive. On the way back I wanted to try and see another Frank lloyd Wright house (Kentuck Knob) but unfortunately it was already closed.


Falling Water