Charlotte
1 May
29 April
27 April
26 April
22 April
On to New Orleans
Can Francisco
Road map
1st May
Am in a hurry, so can't say much.
It is Sunday arvo and we catch a train to New Orleans tomorrow AM at 0400hours.
All goes well. Not sure how well we will be able to use internet as all the books say New Orleans is bad for cybercafes. So there may be a gap for some time.
Index...
29th April
It's Friday afternoon here and it is another wet and cold day.
We have finally booked a train to New Orleans on Monday morning - 0357 hrs!
to arrive there at 2020 that night. We'll have three days there and then
take a train to El Paso on the Friday.
Yesterday was fairly warm ie ~18oC or some such, so we went for a drive up
to the Smoky Mountains to Cherokee Reservation. Moira was interested in
having a look at some indigenous centres. Quite amazing really. The main
road in is bordered by tourist shops, fibro teepees etc. Real tinsel town
stuff with a casino to boot. A bit like the Gold Coast! At least they're
getting some return from the europeans after all they have been thru. A
beautiful area once you get away from the hype tho.
I'm sitting at the PC with a rug across my knees - still have the thermals
on!!
Index...
Thursday 27th April
A sunny day and Dorothy took us to the Cherokee Reservation at Smoky
Mountain.
Moira was interested in seeing something of the local indigenous
people. Well I thought it was like the Gold Coast - tinsely and brash (also
the odd fibro teepee - to compete with our Humpty Doo pink buffalo)- even
had a casino!
In fact the museum and arts and craft centre were excellent. Ironic that the Cherokee people are now fleecing the europeans who frequent the casino - no substitute for what the've lost tho.
We met chief Whitefeather at the top of a scenic chair lift ride. He was there in his
"hospitality" mode taking photos of people as they arrived at the summit. He also made blow pipes and was giving demos.
Learnt a little of what was going on there with their land rights and survival of culture. Apparently there are still some full blood Cherokee living in some of the furthest valleys in the reservation. Moira is going to keep contact with him by email.
More to come - you must await the next exciting episode!! Sent off some more photos today.
Index...
26th April
It's bloody freezing here so we're about
to go off for a walk. There's a large bookshop up the road so we're going to
peruse the travel section. I might have some lunch there as they also have a
coffee shop and it is 1445 and I'm hungry. It's probably too expensive to
hire a car, we might Greyhound it to Florida and then New Orleans - looking
for a boat passage to Mexico, if possible. otherwise we'll use the bus pass
to get us to El Paso and into Mexico.
It has been wet and cold and we have done very little. I'm ready to move on,
probably on Monday. Dorothy was going to take us out but as weather is bad
she has gone to work instead. John took me out for my first drive the other
day. It wasn't too bad but could get exciting when there is lots of traffic
and I want to do left hand turns!!
Will endeavour to get an exciting travelogue going as it is too hard keeping
up with all the emails.
Index...
22nd April
It is Good Friday today. The yanks don't celebrate Easter, so it isn't a
public holiday or anything. Apparently has something to do with having such a
large Jewish population and being sensitive!
The weather here is quite warm
and pleasant. We've been taking it easy as Moira has been under par with
headaches. Her family are very nice. Dorothy is Moira's mothers youngest
sister, one of those afterthought babes, so is roughly our age. After she
worked off her obligation to the Fijian teachers dept she and partner John
came to the USA for him to do his PhD, and they have stayed. John is a
professor of economics at UNCC.
As semi New Zealanders they are normal by
our standards, possibly not by American ones tho. I think they stay
basically because of Johns work and the fact that their daughter is American
now.
We went into downtown Charlotte for a wander the other day. It's modern with
quite aesthetically pleasing architecture. It's also quite a small town, so
manageable. Dorothy has since told me that all the beautiful old buildings
were pulled down over night - the same old story where money talks. I quite
like what they have built I have to say.
We used the free internet service
at the library but it's not supposed to be used for emailing.
The place is
very green and very pretty. The houses are a bit like in Gone With the Wind,
grand and on large blocks of land and very southern.
Have been into the
shops and can say I don't think much of next seasons summer outfits for
women. Haven't looked to see what glamorous gear you could be wearing next
season George!
Went out to dinner in a pub the other night for John's
birthday. We've been trying some southern dishes. Tried BBQed pork, grilled
chicken and crab and shrimp casserole - none of which is a patch on Thai
food.
We have just posted a note on the Thorn Tree to see if we can get some
hints on catching a boat from either New Orleans or Florida to Mexico - we
await with interest. We still haven't worked out how we'll get to New
Orleans!
As I say Moira has been close to moribund the last few days, so
I've been resting and wandering around the suburbs looking at house and
gardens. Also been playing ball with Dakota, dorothy's mad golden retriever
dog!
Sending off my first film today George (Good Friday) so should take a week
to Brisbane and then a week to you. Even have a bridge photo in for you.
Poor Jan will she go (to Dili)????
Index...
