Rally Driving

We wanted to go down to the cove at the bottom of the hill for a day by the sea. Went down this 1 in 4 hill to be blocked by road works. 3 point on the slope interesting & the climb was a bit too much for the poor Fiat. You had to gun it in first and every bump in the road caused wheel spin. The road was very bumpy and the backseat grannies were having fits. So much so that we had to take them back to the complex to recover with several medicinal cocktails. Paul & I went back down to book the cabana & did some more rally cross & off road stuff. Chilled by the pool & took in gooners v Chelsea. I can't believe we can best them having not done so for 6 games and the tension is all there in the face - much worse than 1 in 4 hills. All ended well tho.

One Wonder Today

.. of the ancient world. Visited Mausolus's mausoleum at Halikarnasus today, one of the 7. We've seen 2 now. Lovely day at Bodrum, wrestled traffic, people watched in the cafe, strolled the hooky shops - Del boy would feel at home, then had a lovely dinner overlooking the bay. Paul had his fortune read, apparently he is getting news of a new baby girl at Christmas, getting a loan returned & getting something with an engine in it. It made no mention of getting a hernia from lifting Chris's case, so I have my doubts.

There is a notice in the toilet - Don't put paper down the loo, use a nappy sack. I tried with the nappy sack but it still didn't flush too good.

Ah well, what will tomorrow bring, gooners v chels. Lets see.

Day out in Gulluk

After reading guide in villa about quaint fishing village with delightful beaches decided to take a trip over the mountains to Gulluk. The roads are steepish & narrow around here, so got the satnav going. Not a lot of help - where I am is in the wilderness "return to highway as soon as possible" Found our way nicely anyway with Spanner GPS. Place was nice with nice cafes but beaches, delightful not. Narrow gravelly strips. Lovely anyway. BBQ 2nite with mystery meat from the supermarket.

Linda in element - happy hour at the pool. She's so happy, got confused and ordered the same drink twice.

Turkey, gobble, gobble

Good flight, nightmare car hire. Voucher said on airport Alamo rental desk, didn't make clear that was in a different terminal. Went to other terminal but not allowed in! Went to security who said that Alamo had closed - all in pidgin English. Spanner pays no attention to official, as usual & tried to barge in. No joy, security did not like that at all. Bad news had to go through security - good news, got frisked by attractive young lady. After sat nav pandemonium have finally arrived & sitting on balcony with Efes.

Chris & Lin having a good time, as you can see.

CHICAGO 2

Been doing the usual tourist stuff - on the river cruise, on the hop on hop off. Been to the seaside, popcorn on the pier. Yesterday was fantastic weather. Chicago is a really great place, better than NY. The skyscrapers are very stylish and laid out not to be oppressive, you don't get the feeling of being hemmed in at the bottom of a dark canyon like NY.  The parks, open spaces and walking areas are super. Then you have the added bonus of the beaches on the lake right in town. Plenty of good restaurants & bars. Probably one of my favourite big cities from the many I have visited. Today was a bad day, weather freezing & Chris fell flat on her face, hurting her knees & hands. She & Paul returned to the hotel for R&R while we went to the museum. Fabulous skyline.

PICCIES FROM YESTERDAY

CHICAGO 1

Chitown, enjoying our final days here before we fly home. We've been to the home of the future president, taken an architectural river cruise, foods good, except for the deep pan. Parks and walks around the rivers & lake are very nice. Can you find us in the bean? Weather is variable arrived 5C, today is 27C, Wednesday back to 5

MEMPHIS AMTRAK

Sitting on City of New Orleans (hear Arlo) trying to rypr this blog. It's very bimpy. Broke down just outside Memphis, running 1hr late. Just stopped at a town called Champaign. Guard called out "anyone for Champaign" Mum nearly trampled him. Went to Stax studio, not as nice as Sun, but great music history there. Do you like Isaac Hayes' caddie? Waited 45 mins for cab. Memphis heaving today, end of year frat balls, weddings, Spurs v Grizzlies NBA playoff & music festival starting. Big clothing change, Amtrak has taken us from 27C to 6C in one journey. Nice & sunny tho.

MEMPHIS 3

Elvis had left the building & was in the garden. His Nan outlived the whole family. He had a great range of tacky. The Stutz was nice. 21 UK number 1s. I've sent Mum & Chris's Graceland photo to Cliff. He's upset. Went to see where MLK was shot. Complicated story, maybe FBI had hand in his death. Catching train to Chicago tonight. Freezing up there. BTW C & P insisted we went to Coyote Ugly bar with loud rock. What's that all about in the land of the delta blues? Wedding dress ideas?

MEMPHIS 2

Doing the southern states thing; Food Tennesee dry rub ribs & pitchers of ghost local beer. The bbq pit restaurant was down a dodgy back alley you wouldn't normally visit but really great. Advice - don't drink anything that is named after a natural disaster or a weapon. Sport - took in college baseball, Ole Miss v Memphis;  Music - went to Sun Studios. The stories behind Sam Phillips quitting his job to signing Elvis, selling him for £35k and founding Holiday Inn is quite something. The live music in Beale St is not to be missed.
What do you make of the duck walk?

MEMPHIS

Hunting & Fishing is big here in Tennessee.

MISISIPI 5

Been fighting the civil war at Fort Curtis in Helena. We did some weapon firing and shot some rebs. Helena is trying to revitalise itself after mechanisation drove everybody away. It's concentrating on history and tourism. It has a blues festival that attracts 80,000 people every year.
That's Woody & Wassername, our dinner companions. He was a US coastguard for 30 years.

MISSSSISSSSIPPPPEEEE 3

Been to Natchez & Vicksberg since last blog. Natch is a quiet little town whose major occupation is now tourism. There are a number of rich peoples homes to visit. When cotton was big anyone with a little money came here, set up cotton plantations & became millionaires overnight. Went to micro-distillery making rum. Nice samples. Saw some freed slave homes who did really well. Took one of boat's bikes for a ride along the bank.

Vicksburg is site of a major civil war battle. Went to the battlefield and learnt about it from a CSA army character. I was Major General Bowen of the CSA army, but died of dysentery before the war end. Chilly now and rainy. Food still good, got Maine Lobster tonight.

MISSSISSSIPPPEEE 2

A nudder daydun. Last night we went to the engine room bar after dinner. It's right at the back and has round windows behind the stage through which you can see the paddle wheel turning. The captain and another officer came down & had a guitar session with the resident group. Really good session of rock & pop music.
The ship was built 1995, but has original stuff from other paddlers. Steam engines from 1937, fire places from 1860's homes, chandelier from 1904 St Louis world fair, from Budweiser display. The whole boat is faithfully re-created in period style. Today we HOHOed in St Francisville. This was a town that was built to replace Bayou Sara which was was washed away by the river. Every time we leave we play the steam organ (calliope?) Apparently you can hear it from 5 mile away. I can believe it sitting under the pipes.