Week 13 Gap Year: Week 4 and a half in the U.S.A

Now sitting in Atlanta, one of the more plain cities that the group has been to since arrival a month ago. I say this because I walked around it at twenty minutes at night and a long drive. 2nd of September and arrived on the 29th July. It seems quite unimaginable it has been that long and how quickly the time has gone by especially after arriving in Texas. After the ferocity in which we embraced Las Vegas it was at first depressing, but now slightly

unsurprising that the trip slumped for a few days. Scant sleep in Vegas, long distances travelled in days and relentlessly filling in a tight schedule and on a constant high on the west coast, Dallas and Austin (the latter of which we were all gutted about) were spent recovering and shifting from Dallas to Austin.

Dallas as expected we did not see in great detail, virtually seen in darkness on arrival at Dallas/Fortworth airport in a pricey taxi and then rushed to the train station in the morning. That was not surprising. At the train station things took a slight dip when our train scheduled to turn up at 11:15 turned up fifty minutes late. Never have I witnessed a train go so agonisingly slowly as our second Amtrak train journey to Austin. How can a train go that slowly. Countless delays and endless technical difficulties. Drive or take the plane, the public system of transportation is scandelous bar San Francisco and San Diego. Amusingly the group also failed to check the location of our hotel in Austin, the location in the fourth largest city in the U.S.A coming back to haunt us. We had forgotten that Austin was an urban sprawl and it turns our we were stuck in a Bosworth Hotel at a major junction on the Northern Interstate Highway, one full-hour bus journey away from Austin and 6th Street, a city and place well-known as the most liberal city in Texas, full of bars and showcasing plenty of live-music. For Ollie inparticular I felt particualarly bad because we all knew how much he had been looking forward to Austin. It was a bad mistake not to check location and one that shall not be repeated. We struggled to find anything to do in the three days we were there! Applebees and 7/11 provided our much needed food as there wasn't even a mall nearby, but we drowned our sorrows on several cheap but very good pitchers at Applebees' bar and were lifted by the Texas waitresses going 'Hey y'all!'. Our two days there was extended to three as Rupert needed a day to recouperate after being struck down by sickness brought on by a variety of factors (still Charlie managed to get quite a good impression of the dire straits Rupert was in for that day). Lots of TV, a dodgy swimming pool, bites on Charlie's leg from a likely invested mattress and a gym with no air-conditioning in the humid air of Dallas, and not much good food nearby to get to, it was a plunge from the highs of the Elara Hotel. However now I look back on it, those three days recovery were quite important especially after two days of intense travel from Vegas to Dallas and Dallas to Austin. I guess it all caught up with us.

The bright side was that last Tuesday was a good day, the group had decided after recommendations from locals that Galveston on the Gulf of Mexico was a preferable destination to Houston and still close to the Space Center/NASA coveted by Charlie. We booked it up and after shifting a few dates forward after the extra day in Austin and picking up our rented car from Alamo in Austin airport (Hyundai Genesis, our best car yet) we set off for the coastline. A fairly long drive but that was helpd by some passing by what seemed like the whole Galveston police force surrounding a particular district and passing by NASA and Houston signs and arriving at the Gulf of Mexico sparkling in the late afternoon. It was cool to think we had another chance to surf and catch some sun and sea for the last time before we get home. The Gulf of Mexico was really, really warm. I don't think any of us have ever been in water quite that warm. The Pacific coast water was decent at times, but still quite cold, the Atlantic untouchable in my eyes and the Mediterrenean okay. Waves and just pulling pranks on each other in the warm evening sunshine was a nice relief after a long drive and a long couple of days. It really felt like the trip was back on track. Me, Ollie and Rupert stopped by 'The Crow' in town, Rupert the designated driver as we checked out the bars in Galveston. We met our geniune first red-neck Jesse James who was quite the character who told us of New Orleans and the promises ahead, not to mention his occasionally extreme views. The bar was really cool though, a standard American bar which has on its wall a Jeager Meister surfboard. I wish I could I have had that but alas I am a poor surfer.

This day proved to be my most glutenous of the trip so far. A breakfast and a half at Denny's  (which included scrambled eggs, pancakes with creamed butter, bacon, sausages, hashbrown, water, coffee, Charlie's hashbrown, Charlie's eggs, Rupert's sausages and Charlie's muffins) was followed by a watermelon challenge in Galveston were I managed to eat half a watermelon. This was shortly followed by all-you can eat buffet which culminated in the devouring of several salads, four small steaks, chips, a large Dr. Pepper and some chocolate cake. Pig. All I can say what followed the night after made me glad I had packed myself with food.

Another day spent by the beach and surfing (which was not as good as California in all honesty) and some shopping for food in the local mall and Charlie delaying his trip to the Space Center for the next day. First things first though was a much-needed haircut, my conversation got me a student discount which was pretty awesome (I still tipped well though). It was refreshing considering I had start to slik back the hair and had been reminded so often by the group that my hair needed a cut to prevent a mullet or a certain stupid look emerging. I accidentally fell asleep by the hotel pool to awaken to a somewhat charred face but after a sandwich, a shower and paralysing the group with laughter on an unfortunate dropped towel we went back to 'The Crow' for a few more beers than the previous night. Ollie and Charlie made do with the pool table whilst me and Rupert chatted about gap year and Rupert's potential plans to travel Asia, work in Austrailia for a few months and possibly visit Japan whilst he was out there. I spoke mainly about cycling and Uganda and it was a pleasant evening in general and we were ready to go to New Orleans

That night though 'The Night of Sorrows', as the Spanish at Tenochticlan called it, I joined Rupert on the illness front, violently sick four times during a sleepless night out of nowhere to be honest. Poor diet, perhaps too much sun or fatigue? I don't know but it was first time I was sick from illness and quite frankly I was not missing out and hope it was my last time. It was karma I guess and it had been coming as I had jokingly been talking about leaving the sick and wounded behind in Austin and proudly talking about my 'perfect immune system'. Funnily enough and fittingly probably the tables had turned the next day asking to the group if we were 'still cool' and that they wouldn't leave me behind. I have to admit though it was a pretty wretched morning for myself, 7-8 hours travel ahead and stomach wreaking all sorts of havoc and pretty horrendous heat. We also had to skip the Space Center as well for time, another destination that we had wanted to see scribbled out to make for time. We crossed from Texas into Louisiana and I slept most of the way to compensate for a dismal night before and when we arrived the hotel, it was a few slices of pizza, nectarine and bananas and then bed. Still New Orleans at first glance was visually quite the drive through highways poisitioned on first swamps, rivers, lakes and finally ocean. It was hardly surprising however to see why the city has flooded courtesy of Hurricane Katrina a few years back, it is quite the spot for a good flooding.

It was good to be back in a big city surrounded by skyscrapers and what was best was that we were one left and two blocks away from Bourbon street. The timing of my recovery was perfect, ill on Thursday and raring to go again on Friday for a night out on the best street in New Orleans. During the daytime we visited the street and were drooling at the amount of bars, clubs and shops to chill at for the day. How do you describe New Orleans and Bourbon Street? One massive party and just like Vegas but without casinos. People were clubbing, drinking and committing all sorts of tomfoolery as we did and then collected our laundry that afternoon. We could scarcely comprehend what awaited us from the evening to early morning. Charlie was hit by illness at a bad time but he managed to make a few hours out, but we started in the hotel bar with some quite lethal cocktails one of which was called the 'Firecatcher' and the other, a particular contributor to Rupert's eventual demise, 'The Freight Train' which had to be the strongest cocktail I had ever had,  a combination of something called 'Diesel' and some other ingredient which simply gave it a little colour. When we reached Bourbon Street following some spectacular street dancing, we headed for an array of bars and one which served us the 'Hand Grenande' and people showering from above with bead necklaces and an cheeky pouring of beer meeting some interesting characters along the way. Many hours later we returned early morning to the hotel  Rupert Arvidsson take a bow. It was a great night and it was a shame we couldn't do anymore nights. Our final day left us all feeling worse for wear and a hangover in which only endless episodes of 'Ink Master', Popeye's and two Mcdonalds in a row could cure. The latter was regrettable . After nearly 5 weeks you do grow frustrated with the lack of fruit in the damn country which eventually forces you to go to fast-food places which after a while become repetitive and inedible. When I get home I won't be touching fast-food for a while. Still if you go to the U.S.A, go to New Orleans and go to Bourbon Street, it was simply unforgettable and if we could of had more time there we would have stayed longer. Any city that reduces Rupert to religious conversion and rocking backwards and forwards on his knees in prayer to Mecca for a hangover cure deserves credit!

Today we awoke in Louisiana, filled the car with gas in Mississipi, ate lunch in Alabama and after this blog is finished sleep in Georgia after a fantastic meal at Noodles in Atlanta. It has been quite the day and quite a drive but still awesome and the Kindle has provided me with some great reads along the way. Two weeks to go and so much to do when I get home!

Quotes of the Week:

• "Oh look parachutes for the both of us" "Whoops not anymore!"
• Alejandro
• How jer fand me!
• "Weirdos!!"
• "Where are you guys from?" "England" "England?! DAMN me and the Queen gat something goin OWWWN!"
• "That's raaaght baby!"
• "Feeerrreeeeky"
• "Love that chicken from Popeye's!"
• "We're going to die"
• "Noooo, I clean"
• "Housekeeping" (so many damn times)
• "So give us a call, you'll be glad you did! Cannon Box!"

Matthew Williams