la fin

Our last post...let's not try and make it too emotional.

We last left you in Florida, after a great night out with some friends it was onward and upwards (literally) to Savannah, Georgia.

NAILED IT!!!!!! (after the failure to get the Georgia State sign on the  way down, Jen succeeded second time round)

Savannah is so, so beautiful! Calum had managed to book us into a lovely guest house - by far the nicest place we have stayed - The Eliza Thomson Guesthouse.

We had obviously booked the smallest room but it was still absolutely stunning! Very vintage-chic.... more so than Motel 8 anyway!!

We really like the idea of a fireplace in the bathroom, so cozy. The guesthouse did everything they could to personalize your stay, including wine and cheese in the evening; desserts and decaf coffee at night time, and breakfast in the lovely little courtyard in the morning. All included in the price! They even left little chocolates and a little card detailing the weather for the next day on your pillow at night - so thoughtful.

This is where breakfast was served

The entire town of Savannah was just as pretty as our guesthouse, if not more so. That evening we took a stroll around the town centre and went for a meal. We decided to try some 'Fried Green Tomatoes' which are considered to be a Southern Delicacy. The ones we ordered turned out to have crab meat on top of them, they were fairly delicious.

The next morning we decided the best way to see the city was to take a tour. This time we elected for an 'open trolley tour' which looks a little like a tram:

Again, our guide was absolutely fantastic! Very knowledgeable and fairly humorous. Some of our favourite Savannah moments were:

- 'The Twin's Houses': a father built these houses to be exactly symmetrical so that his twin daughters could not argue that one was more favoured than the other. The only differences in the whole houses were (and still are) the door knockers and knobs. I'm sure the girls still found something to argue about there though! The houses are now privately owned but the owners have kept these originals features.

- 'Sherman's House': Some wealthy cotton dealers tried to stop Savannah being burned back in the civil war by offering the city TO the soldiers. One cotton dealer even offer General Sherman his house to use as headquarters as need be. This plan worked however the General was fairly cheeky as he did indeed take command of this house, and then charged the owner rent to live in it! haha

- 'The Colonial Cemetery': This was such an interesting cemetery! Our tour driver informed us that a lot of the gravestones were vandalised by soldiers during the civil war who were stationed there. Apparently they got bored and changed a few of the gravestones so that they were a bit more humorous. Calum and I walked back later to see if we could find any and found this one:

You will notice that the man died when he was '11', his wife was '17' and his child was '12'... those jokers! We found it VERY disrespectful though...

After the tour we visited the Savannah Candy store, the wine shop and the peanut store. After purchasing various items in each we walked along the river and stopped for a quick bite. It was time to hit the road again after this: next stop Charleston!

The South Carolina state sign was very close to Savannah, and Jen had an EPIC FAIL. The camera doesn't always take straight away but this was what we did get.

In Charleston I had organised to stay in a Bed no Breakfast establishment. Charleston accommodation was pretty pricey, so it seemed like a good deal. Arya Hurst the host was into Greek mythology and seemed fairly strange. Anyways, Jen didn't like the place, so we ventured into town and managed to book another lovely inn. The lady gave me a reduced price, and then when I gave her the eyes, she gave me the reduced price on a king bed instead of a queen. I reckon my bargaining skill were pretty good. It also include breakfast on the roof which was glorious.

That evening we walked into town to have dinner and experience a bit of the night life. We went to an oyster bar for dinner where Jen picked very very well- I was seriously jealous. Tuna steak with wasabi dressing. Although the highlight was the fried corn bread, which was also delicious. They had sugar powder on it and seemed to be more like a dessert.

After dinner we went to a small coffee shop for proper dessert and watched a poetry reading. It was an open mic thing, and they were some pretty talented writers, but equally some of it was cringe. Funniest was a girl TRYING to play guitar while singing a song about a shrub. Jen almost laughed and refused to look at me during the performance.

We then walked down to the pier and sat on a swinging chair, while Jen tried to capture some shots of the moon:

The next day we decided again that the best way to see the city in such a short period was to go on a tour- this time a horse tour.

Charleston was equally as beautiful as Savannah and the guide had lots of fun facts and good stories to tell, and Danny was indeed a noble steed- He was an old fella and was almost retiring. We were told that this did not mean the slaughter house but a peaceful field with lush grass.

The tour showed us all around the old city, with beautiful quiet residential neighbourhoods. Charleston has suffered the worst earthquake ever experienced before on the East coast so a lot of the buildings were a little bit squiggly-wiggly or had big earthquake bolts inside them holding them together.

The tour guide also showed us the college in Charleston, look at the school buildings and the fraternity and sorority houses:

this was by far the nicest student house we had ever seen!!

After the tour we went to a southern restaurant called Husk, which had recently won a very good award. Now this was the real southern experience. We shared crispy pig ear sliders to start, then had bbq lamb, home made wedges and proper corn bread. The lemonade was fantastic too. Before being sat we were able to read a chart which detailed all the produce used in the restaurant and were it was bought in from, so that was interesting. I think this is up there with some of the best food we have had on the trip though.

After lunch we walked down to the river to see rainbow row: This is basically a row of houses that are the very colourful. I believe that the houses have to ask permission about what colour there house can be, and it is very difficult to change the colour of the house.

Then to Jen's excitement we came across ELLIOTT street spelt correctly. On this street house number 8 was also for sale, which I am told is Donna's favourite number- so we think its meant to be that this house should be purchased. 

So this was all very exciting!!!!! 

We got on the road to Williamburg after this, looking forward to Busch Gardens!!!! This was the longest journey so far, and was about 400 miles. On the road we came upon this peculiar place........ was kinda like a mini mexico!

There was a mini golf there, but it was closed, so Jen and I still need to play out the decider to see who is the mini golf ultimate champion. Google maps has been fairly good at navigating us places, but coming into Williamsburg, it took us off the interstate and onto route 5. It was pitch black, trees fallen down, dead deer and Jen was on the edge of her seat. Behind us emerged a car and for 30 miles the theme tune to deliverance rang in our heads. Finally Williamsburg emerged out the woods and we checked in some motel for the last night on the road, booked the busch Garden tickets and went to sleep dreaming of the roller coasters and fun to be had the next day. So I woke early and ready to go, gave busch a quick call to ask if we could collect tickets at the front as we were en route- the response was, 'yeah, no problem!'

So we get on the road and turn into the parking to find that the park is closed and only open at weekends!!!! GUTTED...... Jen held back the tears (Calum didn't) and we bravely turned round to head into Williamsburg to do some Historic and cultural activities.

Williamsburg was fairly tainted for us due to our misfortune that morning. It WAS a beautiful place, with lots of pilgrims walking about. We just kept yelling PILGRIM at them. Here are some photos:

Blah blah culture culture blah. It was quite nice there but given all the beautiful places we'd seen and the amazing things we'd done some guy dressed in tights and smoking a pipe wasn't really up our street. We did have a great sandwich though.

On the way back north I TOTALLY messed up the Virginia sign. It was dark and didn't work! My tester shot worked:

But the main one was a total FAIL:

Nightmare.

Anyway, this is goodbye from me (jen)! Apparently Calum has some amazing mind-blowing conclusion prepare so I will say adios and see you in less than a week! If I don't get to see some family members on the actual day I get home (which is very likely), I'm going to come back down the road in a week or so ok? Love you all very much xxxxx

So after 3621 miles, 9 States (Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina), two districts (Columbia and Washington DC), 11 stops, multiple car related fights, and lots of fun we have made it back safely to Herndon. We would like to thank Grant and Miranda for letting us borrow the Jeep Wrangler. It was a serious step up in the car world for us and we felt we cruised the states in fashion. Without your generosity, the trip would not have been possible, so thank you so much! We would like to thank Rachel for putting us up in Atlanta, for showing us around the city and for giving us the Braves!!! I would like to thank George and Donna for letting us stay in your house in Florida. It was so nice to get a break from the road and I loved being taken to all the hot spots- Universal was awesome. I would also like to thank my parents for helping me save up this summer, slipping me notes for fuel and beer, and also for giving me some holiday money.

We both often joke in Aberdeen that we are 'living the dream'! We usually say this when its clearly not the case. But for the last five weeks, we actually have been Living the Dream, and we both have too many good memories. Next year maybe it will be the west coast! So for the last time.... peace out xxx

Back by popular demand...

Hola! Como estas?!

The intelligent pupil among yourselves might be wondering 'hmmm, I wonder why Calum and Jenni have decided to greet us in Spanish today?' I'll tell you why! Because no one speaks bloody english!!! We all know that I have slightly anti-foreign tendencies but here in Florida even Saint Calum of Baynham has been known to roll his eyes at the various shrieks emitting from loud colourful families. Anyway. Rant over. Calum will begin with our arrival in Florida.

So we made it so a not so sunny Florida after are longest Drive EVER. It seemed to last forever, and my 3rd degree burns and sun sickness were taking their toll, didn't think I would make it. But we arrived safely (sorry for letting you all know we are still alive after the last post). George and Donna's Florida house is lovely, and it was really nice to arrive in a homely place after two weeks of hotels/motels/guesthouses.

So we made a list of activities which we wished to accomplish while we were here. Perhaps the purpose and the most important destination in our minds of this trip was visiting HARRY POTTER LAND. So like second day in we went to Universal Island of Adventures. I was fully stoked to hit up some good rides as the only roller coaster I have been in for a long time is the one in Aberdeen with George and Michael which is fairly lame.

(you will note at this point that I am wearing my Atlanta braves t-shirt. A little boy got his photo taken with me in it. Also look how gross Calum's burst-blister juice is on his shoulder. Bleeeeuuuurgh)

We obviously are in Florida at the right time of year because we were very lucky with the lines- there simple were not any. First up was the Hulk, which was pretty cool. The Elliott Dr Evil picture on the ride is hilarious but Jen and I are still stuck with doing the peace sign. Jen hates this ride, or the start of this ride but it was soooo much fun.

Jen: I hate it because it goes 10...9...8... as you climb up the hill but then it shoots up on 7. Nightmare.

Next was Spiderman. Great rind combining movement, 3D and other effects. The Second time we went on the ride we were lucky enough to be sharing a row with Santa! Unfortunately the jolly man with the white beard and hair also had an oh-ho-ho jolly stomach which meant the lap bar was about 3 feet off Calum and I's knees. We were thrown about evvvvverywhere it was hysterical.

Look at the increasing blister juice on Peter Parker...

Calum said his brother Matt would have loved this section of Islands of Adventure because it was Marvel comic themed. We looked into getting him a t-shirt but shops are such a rip off in these places, figured it would be cheaper to order him one off ebay.

Next - my worst nightmare. Dudley Doorights Ripsaw Falls. I HATE water rides. I especially hate water flumes that consist of one vertical fall that you plunge down in a tiny little log transporter. The ride broke down about four times when we were on it which only added to the tense climb. I was in near tears but of course I had my go get'em image to maintain and I didn't want to endure Calum's mocking so I was a brave girl. This added to the other water ride we had been on made my denim shorts a VERY unpleasant affair:

at least the blister juice was now disguised!

deadly. this photo doesn't even do it justice.

Next, after one more water ride (sigh), we arrived in Hogsmeade: Harry Potter Land! I got a bit snap happy here so here's a little selection....

Outside Hogsmeade... excitement building (even though still drenched) 

Cal and Hogwarts

The famous mirror of desire...

Even though the queues were sometimes a little long (although not HALF as bad as they could have been), the design of the set was really interesting so it didn't feel like you were queuing. This part was supposed to be the herbology classroom).

Screaming Mandrakes

House Cup Colours. Big fights ensued as to what house Calum and I would be in. Both claimed to be Gryffindor but....

entrance to Dumbledore's office

the pictures were fantastic!! They all moved and talked. One even told me I was going to be the next big thing at Hogwarts!!! Calum will deny this, just like he claims one told him that he was going to be a big Quidditch star. It's these sort of lies that would definitely result in him NOT being a Gryffindor. Maybe Ravenclaw on a good day. Although with his love for chocolate milk Hufflepuff could still be an option....

Holograms were used to make it look like the characters were there in real life talking to you. It was hard to snap a picture of these but you can kind of see Dumbledore in the middle at the top? It was very Mission Impossible-esque, so cool.

When we entered the ride a lady said 'Muggles this way please!' and Calum shouted back in her face 'I AM NO MUGGLE'. Was extremely funny / slightly aggressive.

Ah the sorting hat... (told Jenni she was a slytherin!!!)

 The actual ride was FANTASTIC. It was a brilliant combination of rollercoaster/special effects. Calum and I got VERY carried away and were casting spells all over the place. We actually ended up buying our picture at the end of the ride because it is hysterical. Neither of us are smiling or having fun, both are very seriously pointing wands at various Dementors and yelling EXPECTO PATRONUS or STUPIFY. The lady at the desk glanced at our photo, raised an eyebrow and questioned 'have you guys done this before?'. We were like nope, just naturals.

Hagrid's Hut

Buckbeak

We were DESPERATE to try butterbeer after the Elliotts had so highly recommended it. You can buy it either frozen or cold. It is delicious. It's kind of like cream soda/wherthers originals with a caramel-y foam on top. I would DEFINITELY buy it if it were stocked in the Muggle world.

Calum went for the frozen option, we both preferred the other variety though

Here are some general Hogsmeade photos. You can tell how much we enjoyed this day due to the high level of photographic evidence haha

 We quite liked the pumpkin juice. It's very difficult to describe. Kind of like a thicker texture than apple juice but a similar consistency with a slightly spicey aftertaste. Throughly enjoyable.

Our next challenge was the Triwizard Tournament. This consists of two entwining rollercoasters that were supposed to symbolise two different types of dragons. I LOVE these rollercoasters but Calum was very scared and informed me at the top of the hill that he didn't want to do it; not much I could do at that point! However by his wide eyes and feeble voice I think that he might have just been mocking me on the water rides...what a prankster.

We weren't sure if this was the actual car from the movie but it was quite cool.

Again, the queue for this was fantastic. The 'wait time' displayed outside was 5 minutes. However it took us about 20 minutes to walk through the castle!! When we actually arrived at the coaster there was infact no queue!

The cup / horcrux

the singing eggs

the different types of dragon

After annoying the various hispanic families in the queue around us with my constant snapping and conquering the dragons, we had another little stroll through Hogsmeade.

Chocolate Frogs ($10 so we didn't buy one)

extendable ears, equally ridiculously prices

my new ride to school

There were a few little shows on around Hogsmeade. It seems if you were slightly chubs and English then you are guaranteed a job in this part of Universal. Perhaps a good way to get a working visa?

So by now you will be aware what MASSIVE Harry Potter geeks we are! We heard lots of murmurings by Americans saying that 'all Brits love it' in response to our obvious delight. Stupid Americans and their 'sorcerer's stone'...

ANYWAY move on we must!

The next day we went to Universal Studios. It could be considered a little bit more dated than Islands of Adventure but we still had an absolutely brilliant day.

I seem not to have taken a picture of Rockin Rollercoaster sorry. It is a wide spanning new rollercoaster that has a MASSIVE initial drop. Calum absolutely loved it and to my utter disgust we were allocated the front row. The initial climb is so steep that you ride up horizontally. My stomach is churning at the thought. It has a delicious thrill to it though and Calum loved it so we ended up riding it a few times.

Universal is also home to rides such as the Simpson, Men in Black (which Calum won at, I won't go in to any more details, but I will hahaha, I destroyed Jenni twice without out knowing about the secret 100000 bonus) and The Mummy: an underground rollercoaster. We had a brilliant day here, the longest thing we had to queue for was jaws which was about 20 minutes, not too bad.

The next day we found a deal online that gave us cheap tickets for Medieval Times, a medieval dining experience. This proved to be a HIGHLY entertaining night. We were placed in the red and yellow knight's team and we got VERY involved. With slanderous calls flying and drinks flowing! You have to eat with your hands which is a little gross but it is all in good fun! Unfortunately my asthma totally kicked in and by the end I was wheezing like that little penguin in Toy Story.

Calum kept yelling JJJJJJJJOOOOOOUUUUUSSSSST at the actors. Was hilarious. When the King was toasting lots of things Calum also shouted loudly 'TO RED AND YELLOW, CHEERS' which prompted a light ripple of laughter from the crowd.

look how much chicken we were given!!

I ploughed in to mine whole-heartedly

Calum had already finished his, what a natural.

The next day we went to Sea World. Calum wants to describe this day as it was his BEST. DAY. EVER.

p.s when will we learn? when you don't update the blog frequently it takes aaaaaages! Only just over a week left of our trip now so there can't be that much to write about, right? With us hitting the road again this weekend, who knows!?

Bay Bay reporting; SO I think Sea World was probs the best park because we got a good mixture of excellent rides and incredible shows. I woke up early (standard) to get to the park for the opening when Jen said 'Calum, the animals sleep too,' and I was instructed to sleep a little longer. Finally we left and as we arrived at Sea World the heavens opened. I was told we could come back another day but nothing was stopping me from entering Sea World.

So we bought these awesome cloaks. I got to meet Shamu straight away!

'must be love love love'

Then we went onto the first ride:Manta. This was a really cool ride as your arms and legs were strapped in and you lay down. We both did are own impressions of Manta's before embarking on the ride.

We were given front seats for the ride again, which was awesome. This was one of Jen's favourites and I really liked it the first time too, as you could see what was coming. Later on we went on the ride again, and it was not so much fun because I was so focused on pulling out a great photo and not ready to be thrown on my back and proceed towards the ground backwards at great speed- may have freaked out a little. (he looked at me with really wide eyes again like 'jen, i just wasn't ready.... i just wasn't'. It was hysterical)

After Manta we went to watch the first of the shows. SHAMU! Jen does not like the shows as much anymore because the trainers are not allowed in the water (after a trainer got eaten). Jen believes that this is a risk that comes with the job and the trainers should still be allowed in.... hahah, which I guess makes sense. However I still think that watching a live killer whale show is pretty amazing.... not something you see every day!

I got some good snaps!

So pretty incredible. We sat in the wet zone and not one splash hit us! So that was my only disappointment..... I was looking forward to seeing a wave of water hit Jen!!!!

Next was Clyde and Seamore, which is a sea-lion, otter and walrus show! It was fairly funny and the walrus was definitely our favourite.

After this we had some lunch and ice cream! mmmmm

BIGGER THAN JENS HEAD!!!!!

After lunch we went to the dolphin and and whale show. I believe that the whale in the show is called a false killer whale. This was probably the best show as the trainers were in the water and so much was going on. Including some colourful parrots!

The last two pics are of the whale.

Following the show we went on another water ride, which of course put a huge smile on Jen's face......... Atlantis was a large log flume type ride, which I thought was great fun, Jen not so much. After we went on the Kraken roller coaster which I think was the best out of all the coasters.... but I keep changing my mind. The roller coaster put a smile back on Jennifer's face though!!! YEY!

The rest of the afternoon was spent seeing some more animals; this included alligators, manatees, penguins, sharks, polar bear, beluga whales, sea lions, Walrus's and lots of other fishies. The sea cows were funny, and we both do a mean impression of a manatee.

That evening Donna's good friend Laura Mixon set us up with sweet tickets for Cirque de Soleil, which was glorious. The show was fantastic and extremely captivating. My fav were the wee chinese girls, while Jen really liked the juggler. The acrobats had both of us on the edge of our seats fearing for their lives! Scary stuff

Another day, another adventure. It was a casual cool 32 degree celsius when we walked in to Aquatica, Sea Worlds water park. Water park was really fun, and Jen finally played with me in the pool, instead of working on her tan!!!!! We both deduced that the best slides were the double ring rides, although it was cool that there was a slide that went through the Commerson dolphin enclosure. These dolphins were beautiful and looked like 'mini shamu's.'  (I'd like to point out at this point that i DO play with Calum in the pool and I went on EVERY slide but there's only so long a girl older then 8 can be interested in counting how many times you can throw a beach ball to each other!! Calum wished my brothers were here to play with him in Florida...I do too!!!)


In Florida we have also played mini golf and enjoyed some other hot spots that Jen and her family love. Think I want to move into Golden Corral. And having dinner while in the movies!!!!! Only in America

We have both had a lovely time in Florida and its been great to relax by the pool and sometimes just to stay in and have dinner. I have really enjoyed hearing about all the great past times that the Elliott family have had in Florida and I wish that you could have been out here this week.

We are hitting the road again Sunday...... First stop Savannah

Peace out!!!!!!

Calum and Jenni

xxxxx