Fond Farewell to Uncle Sam

So Mr Button and I are on the final day of our eventful trip across the US. Mr Button enjoyed chilling out in Fresno where we stayed with friends and didn't do a lot, which was nice after our hectic travels. We spent one night on the coast at Monterey, which was beautiful watching the sunset over the beach with pelicans flying over head and a dolphin bobbing through the waves. Mr Button had decided that the next day he would like to go the aquarium (perhaps he was feeling sorry for me as I didn't get to go to the one in Chicago). It was great, a small companion of ours especially enjoyed the 'hands on exhibits' where you could touch the starfish, anemones and such. We then headed off to San Francisco (where we wore flowers in our hair - no only joking). We went to see the mist shrouded Golden Gate Bridge, drove up and down lots of hills and spotted a hippy or two.

Tomorrow we fly home again, tired, and in the case of Mr B looking a little fuzzy around the edges, and no I'm not talking about his aura. It has been a most enjoyable and cram packed trip the likes of which we will probably not have the opportunity to do again. We have seen some truly magnificent sights and Mr Button, I'm sure has become a more rounded human being because of it. I hope you have enjoyed reading my little blog and here endeth the lesson with the most common American phrase we've heard, 'Your Welcome!'

Mr Button declared he wanted to go hunt a bear. Not with guns you understand, Mr Button states (in Vogue magazine June 2011) that he loves all animals and would be a vegetarian if he didn’t love eating steak so much (he loved Texas).

So we struck out for Sequoia forest in search of bears. It was as we were driving through the forest that we caught sight of a bear ambling through the trees being closely pursued by a guy with a video cam. We are in the technological age where even bears are celebrities soon to be in the ‘spotted’ pages of Heat magazine or sim. So with ‘bear’ ticked off our list we went on our way to see some giants (trees that is). Sequoia’s are larger than red woods because of the width of the tree trunks as well as the height. We made our way to the giant forest and ‘General Sherman’ (the world’s largest tree) it even made Mr B feel rather insignificant, but alas the same could not be said for his over sized ego.

Trees done we made our way to California which Mr Button was most excited about, probably because of the prospect of seeing lots of tanned lovelies. But Mr B will have to wait as we are currently inland and no where near the coast so he just has to sit by and watch as I read trashy mags and drink wine into the evening, my skin lily white and blinding in the moonlight.

Ain't life Grand

Mr Button shook the red dust from his feet from the magnificent Monument Valley as we made our way to the Grand Canyon. We were staying in a ‘rustic’ cabin (though it wasn’t that rustic it had a coffee maker)! which was only a short walk to the south rim of the canyon and so we decided to go and watch the sunset. The canyon certainly lives up to it’s name, we had thought the Palo Duro canyon had been pretty impressive but the Grand Canyon is in another league it is so vast and deep, the play of shadows on the rocks is amazing and photographs don’t really do it justice. Mr Button was up for a hike but when he saw how far down it was he decided against it and he didn’t like the idea of riding down on a mule.

From here we went to Las Vegas stopping on the way at the hoover dam which was a huge manmade structure that was impressive in it’s own right against the back drop of the rocks that surrounded it. Las Vegas then appears as you drive over the hill the tall shining buildings, billboards and advertisements suck you in and you don’t really know where to look first. We had two days here and Mr Button....well as they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas so my lips are sealed......

Then onto Death Valley another natural marvel and one of the hottest places on earth. The landscape changes as you drive across death valley from dried out lakes to mountains of many hues and colours. Mr Button made a prickly friend or two along the way chinwagging with the locals about the lack of road runners (coyotes eat them - the cartoon lies - meep meep).

Mr B sees some buttes!

Today we drove through New Mexico and into Arizona, driving through these states has revealed the most spectacular scenery we have encountered so far on our journey, and going off sat nav and going old school map reading now and again has given us some truly magnificent vistas.

We arrived at midday at Monument valley and got our map, Mr Button sniggered heartily at all the buttes (Camel Butte, Elephant Butte etc) he is a man of simple pleasures. The valley itself is truly amazing and one of the destinations that I was most looking forward to on the trip.

The buttes tower high above you and you get to drive along a dirt road around and through monument valley. You can't really get up close and personal even though the temptation to hike off into the desert is immense. It was definitely a day to remember and was finished off with a fantastic meal of green chilli enchiladas with squash and mushrooms - delicious!

There is so much to see that it's going to be hard to remember all the sights that we have seen. We carried on our Route 66 journey stopping off at the Route 66 Museum which was good fun, Mr Button got rather distracted in the shop and bought lots of Route 66 souvenirs.

We soon arrived at our next destination Canyon, Texas. Mr Button started off the morning by eating a texas shaped waffle, he has been eating so many of them for breakfast that he has rather started to resemble one himself.

We then went to visit Palo Duro Canyon, the second largest canyon in the US. It was magnificent and a bonus was we could drive around at the bottom, given the scorching temperatures just being able to nip out for the odd photo was great. We then left Texas on our way to Albuquerque stopping off at a few stops along the way including the infamous Cadillac ranch. Mr B did the obligatory graffiti and then off we went, stopping at Tinkertown museum on the way which was an eclectic eccentric array of curios. Next stop Bluff via Monument Valley!

Getting our kitsch on Route 66

Mr Button was wanting to get his kitsch on Route 66 and that we did stopping at a few truly ’66 icons. The first was Totem Pole Park with the biggest totem pole, built in the 1950s it was truly a spectacle to behold. Mr B thoroughly enjoyed his perusal among the poles. The museum and shop were oddly filled with violins for no discernible reason but still worth the stop. Next up was the Cartoosa Whale a large whale out in a pond circa 1970 alas swimming is no longer allowed because of the snakes! We didn’t see any but we did glimpse some turtles and fish in the water.

Tulsa was our stay for the night and then we headed on to our next destination, Bethany Oklahoma. This time we stopped at the round barn which was truly magnificent to look at, built as they supposedly thought the shape would make it tornado proof (I wouldn’t want to be in it during a tournado to find out)! Then ‘Pops’ as Mr B pointed out the most ‘pop’ular stop on route 66 so far with over 500 varieties of pop, the mind boggles. Then we arrived in Bethany as it was Sunday the small shops weren’t open but we were still able to appreciate the many murals painted on the sides of the buildings.

Tomorrow we are off to Canyon near Amarillo in Texas yet another change of scenery.

Mr Button was looking forward to seeing the sights of Chicago and it didn’t disappoint. We decided to do a hop on hop off bus tour to see all the sights, although, as Mr Button noted, the tour guides could give the British a run for their money in the sarcasm stakes.

First we checked out the ‘bean’ a large reflective orb that is mesmorising. We then headed for the Aquarium, unfortunately the gigantuan queue meant we went all that way just for a hotdog, albeit a nice (vegetarian for me) pickle laden hotdog. We then went along to the Navy Pier which is basically Weston-Super-Mare by Lake Michigan, it even had a Ferris wheel ala Weston, sponsored by MacDonalds of course! Mr B, not being the shy retiring type also ingratiated himself with the local segway mounted police (see photo).

It was a long day finished off by a not-to-be-repeated drive through Taco Bell experience (at least until we are better acquainted with the menu). I had mush in my taco, Mr Button had mush with bits in his.

Today we hit route 66, which was very exciting although as we were driving a long way we decided to use mostly highways but did detour to see the Gemini Giant. Someone even shouted ‘tourist’ out the window at us which was nice of him to welcome us to good ‘ole route 66. We also made a brief stop at the Cahokia Mounds an ancient sight of grassy hills, the museum was interesting but as it was 105 degrees Fahrenheit outside we decided against venturing outside, Mr B got so hot he came out in prickly heat.

We are now staying at The Wagon Wheel Motel, an original route 66 motel the only one we are staying at on our journey. We are relishing it’s neon kitschness and enjoyed our meal at next door’s ‘Missouri Hick BBQ’, Mr Button felt positively red necked.

Today we travelled from Middlebury, Indiana to Chicago stopping at the Indiana Dunes on the way. The Indiana dunes Central beach was a lovely lakeshore beach, you wouldn’t think that you were actually on a vast lake. Although beautiful, the massive steel works and industrial facilities around the lake could be seen in the distance which seemed incongruous with the natural surroundings. Of course none of this bothered Mr B who was quite happy to work on his tan.

We then continued on to Chicago, the windy city, with train’s going up the middle of three lane highways and massive amounts of traffic. We are staying in the burbs and I was pleased to note, just around the corner from a large shopping Mall....and it’s my birthday on Wednesday....what a happy coincidence!

Mr Button has thoroughly enjoyed his time in Middlebury, I think mainly because of the food. Pie every evening, enormous breakfasts consisting of things like fruit slush, baked oatmeal and casserole (it involves pancake mix and is nothing like what you imagine) so Mr B is going to miss the endless supply of home cooked food.

Yes we have reached that part of the country when we have started to notice the growing girth of US citizens. A travelling companion of ours feels positively svelte in comparison. Today we went to the Elkhart County fair (novelty shaped vegetables anyone) where you could basically get anything you wanted deep fried. Orio’s yep we deep fry ‘em, baked cheesecake, yep, strawberries (yes really) and a plethora of elephants ears! We couldn’t really work out what they were, but were they deep fried? You betcha! It was an entertaining experience and Mr Button enjoyed the exhibits so much he entered himself into one of them (see picture).

So tomorrow we head of for the Indiana dunes and then onto chicago for the next leg of our journey.

In Indiana!

Mr Button and I rocked up to our next destination in the rain! The first we have seen since we got here which nicely cooled us off. Our next stop was Middlebury Indiana and our draw here was not only the lush countryside but also to find out more about the Amish and Mennonite traditions. We are staying in a lovely country B&B called the Patchwork Inn. Once we had settled in our rooms and accustomed ourselves to our surroundings we went into the dining room for some pie.

For a first pie experience Mr B happily tucked into caramel fudge pie a sticky chocolate marshmallow coconut confection. Not a man known for his moderation he also tucked into a blueberry pie too and declared it delicious. Next we sat out on the veranda and chatted to the locals while watching raccoons eat food meant for the deer and the entrancing sight of lightning bugs intermittently bursting into light.

The following day we headed to the Menno-Hof museum which gave us an insight into the differences between the Amish, Mennonites and Hutterites. It was a well set out centre with excellent exhibits, Mr B most enjoyed pressing all the buttons. We then had a look round some of the quilt shops before heading home as the sky darkened and thunder started rolling, I think we are in for quite a light show.

Hot Hot Hot in Toronto!

Mr B and I headed for Toronto, we were again staying with some locals which added a bit of colour to our trip. They gave us a whistle stop tour of toronto in the evening and the next day we decided to visit the CN tower and the Royal Ontario Museum. The CN tower was great, you ascend in a glass elevator giving you a great view (def. not one for vertigo sufferers)! Once at the top you can have a look out on the observation deck and stand on the glass floor if you dare. Mr Button elbowed his way in there and lay himself prostrate, nose pressed to the glass, such exhibitionism drawing gasps from nearby tourists.

Next we hit the shops, Mr B was in his element hurling clothes at unsuspecting shop assistants while I was quite happy to browse and window shop.

Next on the list was the Royal Ontario Museum, a splendid piece of old meets new architecture which was quite beautiful on the inside. We didn’t have time to see everything but the exhibitions we did see were wonderfully put together with plenty of interactive elements such as touch screens, drawers to open and peer at and microscopes for taking a closer look. Today we left Toronto on the hottest day ever in it’s history (it is soooooooo hot), thank goodness for air conditioning!

Mr Button had enjoyed his time in the Big Apple and now it was time to venture forth into small town America and the home of the Jell-o museum, Le Roy NY. We were staying with a family of a friend of mine who had kindly agreed to put us up. They were very welcoming and made us feel at home we were soon enjoying hot sauce and oatmeal cake (though not at the same time that would just be gross). Mr B enjoyed the slower pace after the hectic journey around the city. Sitting in the back yard listening to the crickets chirping and popping along to the local fare and duck race, we didn’t win but we did eat snow cones!

It is so hot, even at night, and Mr B is feeling the heat (even his eyes feel like they are melting he says). So we decided to hit the one place we knew we could cool off, Niagara Falls. However my visions of a light sprinkling of mist were miss(t) ho ho ho, placed as the Maid of the Mist boat takes you right near to the horse shoe falls and you get a right drenching. Mr B and I took refuge in our fetching ponchos (I’m sure they get us to wear them just so they can get to laugh at us tourists)! We then returned back to the house to sweat quietly into the evening.

The last couple of days Mr B and I have certainly been busy. Yesterday we managed to do a 3 hour Circleline boat tour around Manhattan island. It was great to see the Statue of Liberty and the amazing skyline, it was a little long however and Mr B was reduced to throwing bits of pretzel at my head for his own amusement. After this we headed back into the city and for a bit of light relief watched Cars 2 in 3D.

Today we decided to check out Little Italy and Chinatown, a vast cacophony of sights, sounds and smells, cheap tat, flipflops, sunhats and bags with New York written on them. We had pizza in little Italy and then made our way to Central Park.

For those that have not been Central Park it is VAST and we managed to get ourselves very lost indeed, our poor feet! Eventually we located Bow Bridge took the obligatory photo and headed for The Mall where we watched the AfroBats street performers. After that I’d had enough so headed home and left Mr B playing chess in Union Square. We have our first drive ahead of us tomorrow.

New York, New York

Mr Button decided to tackle his first day in New York with gusto. Leaping out of bed with the energy of a man half his age (well he is getting on a bit), Mr B demanded pancakes, and pancakes is what he got. Buttermilk blueberry ones the size of small dinner plates slathered in butter and maple syrup. I hate to think what that will do to his cholesterol. Then it was off to the subway. Our nearest station is Union Square and after visiting nearly every subway station around the square we finally worked out what to do. As long as you know if you are going uptown or downtown and the letter or number of your train it’s fine. We got an unlimited travel pass to allow for mistakes!

First stop Times Square, it is overwhelmingly in your face, right up Mr B’s alley. Sensory overload you just don’t know where to look so it’s best to just sit on the seats and take it all in.

Next we pounded the streets. A lady we met on the subway said it was a ‘walking town’ and she sure meant it we walked miles but it was great to take it all in. We were trying to find our way into the ‘Top of the Rock’, an observation deck at the top of the Rockefeller Plaza. After more circuits of the block than a car stuck on a roundabout we eventually found the entrance. The view from the top was amazing and gives you a real feel for the island of Manhattan. We spent some time here admiring the view before heading off to Macy’s.



Ok so it wasn’t really Mr B’s thing going shopping but I managed to persuade him that it was a quintessential NYC thing to do. It’s an old fashioned department store looking it’s age in places but we had a quick look around before getting back on the subway and home.

Mr Button’s journey began mid morning in the UK on his flight to JFK airport. The journey was mainly uneventful save for Mr B’s continuous outrageous flirting with the flight attendants. Landing stateside we made a hasty trip through customs, unhindered by too much queuing, for which I was grateful. I wasn’t sure how much more time I could spend in close proximity with someone quite so gregarious and loud (I’m talking about Mr B here, not the Americans).

After a perilous taxi journey from JFK, in the company of some fellow reserved Brits, we arrived at our first port of call. Mr B had decided he wanted to ‘keep it real’ with his accommodation in NYC and so we are staying in a house mainly used for voluntary workers but with a few bedrooms for hire for visitors. The room is basic but comfy and in a good location close to lots of amenities.

When we stepped outside on our first gaunt around the neighbourhood, Mr B commented that it was akin to stepping into a giant tumble dryer, it is a most peculiar heat even the breeze, what there is of it, is hot. Not wanting to stray too far from the norm and getting crotchety now the jetlag was kicking in Mr B headed for the nearest golden arches for tea, not the most original but good for people watching, then back to the house for an early night.

Tomorrow we hit the city.

Introducing.....

After inheriting his vast button based fortune Mr B, (as he is affectionately known to his friends) media savvy man about town has decided to indulge his thirst for adventure by embarking on a trip across the United States of America.

Amateur DJ, part time property developer, party animal, he has won friends and upset small communities. He can often be found gallivanting about, usually on horse back, aged wine in hand closely followed by his fawning minions. Never one to shun the lime light he is more than happy to live in the media glare even if it is a tad unflattering.

Mr B has been linked to many a high profile celebrity, the latest being Lily Cole whom he was spotted clinging to as they fled a popular London night spot shielded from the camera flashes by an over-sized Burberry Mac.

So what to make of this latest endeavour? True to form Mr B is trying something new and not one to be left behind I for one will be following him closely making sure I capture every exciting moment and embarrassing gaff. Sayonara for now.

Next stop - New York......