High point : The first rocket to land on the moon in Washington space museum
Low point : Losing my voice and sounding like a cross between Pat Butcher and Madge Bishop
No point : I don’t know about you but I’ve never seen actual real life people, using actual real life segways, to actually get from A to B. Really, what’s the point?
A wise man once said ‘’life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get’’. Well today we got rain, and lots of it. Being British we love to talk about the weather and we love to complain, so it goes without saying that complaining about the weather is one of our nations’ favourite past times. If lost for conversation complaining about the weather being too hot or too cold is always a banker. On stage 8 we haven’t had much to complain about. The snow in Arizona turned into an adventure, the vicious winds in Texas were a treat, and now rain in Washington meant an opportunity to stay indoors without feeling guilty.
The White House, the Pentagon, the Capitol, the Mall, the Memorials, the Monuments. In DC there is enough architecture, sculptures and buildings to keep anyone’s head spinning. Our original plan to come to the nations capital went from a simple meeting with The Roy Castle Foundation’s sister charity, The Lung Cancer Alliance, to a full blown extravaganza including a tour of the fireman’s museum, a bath for Martha, cricket on the Mall right in front of the Capitol, photos in front of the White House and a generous free lunch from the manager of the Fireman’s museum.
No Point: Trying to enforce ‘No swear Friday’ – potty mouthed boys!
Quote of the Day: Waitress to Steve – “You look like what I’d imagine a man from London to look like” (while he was wearing the three-piece red FTFE suit)
High Point: 3,650 feet on “Skyline Drive”, awesome, Martha loved it, what a drive!
Low Point: Being escorted to a motel located “right in town” by the owner when actually the motel was way out of town! The conversation between him and Steve as he tried to justify his description of the location of the motel was priceless. Panic of the day: The boys nearly losing their ball while playing their favorite game of “screen ball”, bless.Quote of the day: Steve said that rather than get out into the freezing cold we could admire the view from our “theatre of the world”, aka Martha’s cab, very poetic Stevie 🙂
High point: Meeting the Hoover Fire Department and being escorted out of town
Low point: Crossing a time zone and losing an hour on a drive that was already way too long
No point: Being in a rush
Pen point: Whilst purchasing cab snacks we picked up a copy of Lock Up Magazine which features the latest crims that have been thrown in the can, it’s a riveting read I can assure you, and great for our new game ‘guess the crim crime’.
“It is somewhere around two years now,” Steve told me when I asked him how long ago it was when he first contacted me. I could not believe it. Time flies quite fast when you are not packing your days full of wild escapades all over the globe. Since my return home from The World by Road Expedition in July of 2009, time has certainly flown by and it was a true shock to hear Steve tell me that nearly 2 years have passed since his first email. Read more →
High Point: Landing in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras festivities; Meeting Martha in real life
Low Point: Losing some FTFE video footage, thanks to the very shady people of New Orleans Computer Repair
No Point: Hearing ‘House of the Rising Sun’ performed on stage by a blind-drunk geriatric singer. Who knew that you could sing a whole song without using any real words?
(Not sure she got the) Point:
Prostitute on New Orleans street corner saw the British fire engine and asked “Hey, what are you doing?”, to which Steve replied: “Why, what are YOU doing?”
Joining the FTFE crew for a few days was a bit like being Timmy the dog from the Famous Five. I scampered along while the intrepid team headed off to fantastic new adventures, part of the group but really just a loyal follower. Trotting along with Steve, Steve, Val, Gemma, Amy and James, my eyes bright and my tail waggy, I was excited and proud to be part of this team for a short while. Read more →
Low Point: Trailer trash, cold showers and Steve’s ponytail
No Point: Taxi ‘co-drivers’ meaning not enough seats for the crew, and Amy frequently having to sit on the floor!
When planning our Stage 8 route, New Orleans was one of the places we were determined to visit. But what we didn’t know, 18 months ago, as Val drew a hopeful line on a map, that our arrival into the city would coincide with one of the biggest events in the New Orleans social calendar – Mardis Gras – win!
New crew member Steve Shoppman immediately proved his worth by knowing some lovely locals who invited us round their beautiful house, which was positioned conveniently close to the Mardis Gras parade route – double win! Thanks to Ashley and Will for their hospitality, local knowledge and King Cake to kick start the day.
High Point: Good beeping day, we had lots of people beeping and waving to us as they passed us on the highway.
Low Point: Spending the whole day driving on a pretty soulless main interstate road.
No Point: Interstate roads when your max speed is approx 55 mph.
The day started with a fabulous home cooked brekkie with extra “biscuits”, aka scones, ‘to go’ to keep the hunger at bay on the long road ahead, thank you Gerry, Susan & Tiny. We had met our hospitable hosts at the Elks lodge the previous evening and they very kindly offered us a bed for the night in their lovely home. We just had time for a quick tour of Gerry’s new RV (Recreational Vehicle), complete with an outdoor flat screen TV, before hitting the road for some serious mileage.
