New York, New York Part 2

13th October
The previous day we had booked our tickets for Top of the Rock so that we could beat the the line at 8am. It was relatively chilly in Manhattan although it was predominately due to the weather change. For the previous few weeks, Atlanta had been averaging at around 24 degrees celsius and sunny and when we arrived in Manhattan, it was around 15 degrees which was considerably cooler.

I really liked this photo. I really did. Until Sunbear pointed it out that he looked as though he was decapitated. Now I can't unsee.

Soup to keep warm and a super, super dry sandwich

Childhood dream of visiting this statue

Afterwards, we visited Central Park and walked 3/4 of the length of the park, from 59th street all the way down to 97th street. It was a bit surreal being there, I guess it is because I have seen so many scenes from both movies and television shows that had been filmed there. From Home Alone to Enchanted. I am certain that when we walked under one of the bridges used in Enchanted, I was grinning.

We ended up napping outside on the lawn near the Met for around 2 hours unintentionally. Afterwards, we caught the subway back down to Chelsea to visit the Highline. As it was a Saturday, it was incredibly crowded, to the point of uncomfortable and we decided to leave it for another day. We walked all the way down to the Financial district, which was a considerable walk.

On the way, we passed by Washington Square Park, NYU, Soho and Little Italy. I purchased a 'bubble' tea for Sunbear, as he had never tried one before. It was interesting to witness him try it for the first time, though I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of it; I don't like the 'pearls' or tapioca balls.

Stupidly, I had forgotten to plan adequately and wasn't aware that passes were required to visit the World Trade Centre memorial and we didn't end up going (although I went on my second trip to NYC).  We ended up catching the subway back up to central park, with plans to visit the Met however by the time we got there it was closed and pouring with rain.

Sunset - New Jersey

On a bit of a tangent. Travelling with someone is challenging and I honestly believe it is the best way to test a friendship/ relationship. Even though I thought that I knew him pretty well, I realised that I didn't and it was, at points, aggravating to be stuck with someone for so many hours a day. It really does test the bond, and I believe it either makes it or breaks it. This wasn't just based on this experience, but when I visited New Orleans and listening to two other people talk about their experiences of travelling with supposed close friends. Day 1 was not too bad but this day was almost unbearable at some moments. There were many parts of our relationship that, in hindsight, seemed as though it was from a scene of a movie. Our first kiss, our first 'date', just a lot of little things. The breaking point was when we were yelling on the steps of the Met, in the pouring rain (which by the way is not as glamorous as it sounds. Rain is wet {no shit sherlocks} and uncomfortable).




After our dramatic fight, we went wandering around the Upper East Side in our drenched clothing whilst it was still pouring, and desperately tried to find a place to eat. We stumbled upon this diner and the name escapes me. The burger was good and the rice pudding was as well. I guess food tastes better after a fight that has been resolved.

New York, New York

12th October 2012
How could I travel to the US without visiting New York City? I always knew that I wanted to travel to NYC and Washington D.C on my fall break. The plan originally was to travel with a group of students, however I got invited and then un-invited (maturity as its finest). In the end, I decided to book my flights without asking anyone to join me. Timidly, Sunbear asked to join, which was a little odd as he originally had his heart set on visiting the Everglades.

We caught the bus and then the train at the crack of dawn from our apartments. I never realised until that morning (and then later reaffirmed in London) that I get motion sickness when I can't look out the window. I was feeling terrible sitting down and resorted to standing up for the 30 minute train ride to the airport, trying not to hurl. We didn't check in any luggage as we had crammed 6 days worth of clothing into our respective day packs. Quite a feat I must say. I was still feeling terrible and Sunbear bought me soup and a croissant which did settle my stomach.


Flying over Brooklyn, we could see Manhattan and the term 'concrete jungle' came to mind. Getting to the hostel was more challenging than it should be. We caught the bus from the airport and then instead of catching the subway, Sunbear suggested that we catch a bus down to Times Square so we could see more of Manhattan. Worst. Idea. Ever. We started off at 125th street and an hour later, we were at 100th street and we needed to get to 20th street.

We stayed at the Chelsea International Hostel. One of the worst hostels I stayed in throughout my trip. The only redeeming thing was the location as it was relatively close to the lower end of Manhattan and close to the majority of the attractions. The rooms were terrible, there was no wifi and the shower facilities were half-assed. It wasn't cheap either, but then again, everything was very expensive on Manhattan. I would have stayed at the Hostelling International, which the other group of students stayed at, but it was all the way up at 103rd street. I guess it was all about trade offs in the end, but even then.

Times square.

A problem that we had was that whenever we were hungry, we were unable to find a decent place to eat and yet the moment we ate, all these restaurants popped up. Grr. For dinner we ate at some non descript place. Yes, it looks as though someone sat on our burgers but it tasted okay.

Overall first impressions from the first day. Manhattan was busy, crowded and loud. It was both overwhelming and also underwhelming.

Atlanta Quickshot Shooting Range

A group of exchange students visited the shooting range and I happily joined as I was fairly certain that that would be the only chance to hold a firearm. It was surprising how easy it was to book a session, almost as simple as buying a movie ticket. Everyone just had to hand over a form of identification which they would return after the conclusion of the firing session. No age checks and no questions asked. There were also a few -I believe- dates happening at the shooting range which I found interesting.


The safety goggles and ear protection were awkward as they kept on sliding off my face/ head. I used the two smallest firearms (I don't even know what they were, 8mm and 12mm, perhaps?). No idea if I even shot at the target successfully, but the experience was surreal. I had never held a gun before and didn't realise that it would feel so, now this sounds silly, but heavy and solid, which is logical as it is constructed from metal.

I also tried the bigger gun. I am sure it has some fancy name, but it was basically a machine gun of some sort. That was freaky, especially when I held the trigger down and bullets just fired continuously. The force that pushed me back after each shot was a bit scary; the employee was bracing my shoulder to ensure that I didn't move back too much.

An interesting experience and I can now say that I have fired a gun. I picked up 3 shell casings from the floor of the range and they are now lined up on my shelf of memories in my room.

Coming up next, my fall break trip to New York City and Washington D.C. (Still trying to figure out the best way to divide the trip).

Chattanooga

30th September 2012
I wanted to visit Chattanooga even back when I was in Sydney. I was originally thinking of spending a weekend there and staying at The Crash Pad. Though, it was a good thing that I didn't because there weren't too many things that I could have done if I was alone (most people go for white water rafting, trails and other outdoor activities). The night of Six Flags, Sunbear asked me if I wanted to accompany him to Chattanooga the following day and I agreed. The plan was to leave at 6am and arrive at 8am (it was around a 2 hr drive). However the plan went out the window when I couldn't sleep and then spent a whole 10 minutes hiding in the bathroom until my Italian roommate and the boy she brought home disappeared. On a side note, I never did quite understand what happened with that boy. She wasn't taking him to bed, because she shared her room with another girl. And when I left my apartment, the boy was sleeping on the couch.

In the end, I woke up accidentally Sunbear and we left at 4.30am. This was the first time on a road trip, and with someone who I didn't really know. It was interesting, a lot of awkward silences, but interesting nonetheless. By the time we arrived at Dalton, Georgia nine-tenths of the way there, the sun was starting to rise and I wanted to catch the sunrise from the top of the mountain that we were driving next to. We didn't manage to stop at the top (since we couldn't) and we drove back down the other side.






It was surreal. Standing in an open field with no signs of civilisation.









At 8am on a Sunday in Chattanooga, it was a very sleepy city. There were hardly any cars around and definitely no one walking. We stumbled upon the Hamilton county fair and it was brilliant. Everyone had amazing Tennessee accents, I rode on a yellow school bus (it was the shuttle to the grounds)!! and it was so gezellig.






Frozen t-shirt contest.


Funnel cake!   Once again, I stuck out like a sore thumb. Though truth be told, that was basically the 'story of my life' when I was living in the US so nothing out of the ordinary in the end.
We (a generous use of the word) drove to Prentice Cooper State Forest and Wildlife Management Area, thinking that it would be nice.






The view of Chattanooga was lovely but that was about it. The lake was manmade and underwhelming.

On the drive back to Atlanta we got terribly lost. Sunbear took the wrong road and we didn't have a map or a GPS. We bought a map from the petrol station (and at this stage we had no idea where we were) and he forgot to ask where we were. I think it was pride, to this day, he disagrees. Naturally, the moment you are looking for street signs, they just all magically disappear and it is near impossible to find a street on the map when you have no idea which part of the map that you should even be looking at. At one moment, we were parked in a dark street with the car light on and looking at the map and a man approached the car and knocked on the window. It was terrifying. Though, in the end we made it back to the apartments. What was meant to be a 2 hour return trip turned into a 3 hour trip. Whoops.

My Overall Thoughts
It was alright. Nothing special, just a sleepy town and in hindsight, it seemed like an extension of Georgia.

Would I re-visit?
To Chattanooga, no. To Tennessee, yes. I wanted to visit Nashville and Memphis but just didn't. I don't even have reason as to why I didn't. I claim that there was no time, but in hindsight, I had so much time.

The Gap

Sometimes it worries me that time is going by so fast and yet I have nothing to show. I spend far too many wasted hours in bed marathoning tv shows and movies and for what purpose? This winter break, I am pushing myself to actually leave the house a lot more, with the company of others or just by myself. Things still on my agenda:

• Newcastle
• Wollongong/ Kiama
• Sydney Olympic Park for the parks and perhaps biking 
• Long Reef

Life is too short and this will be the youngest I will ever be. I digress.

I have been wanting to visit The Gap for a while and it was fitting in light of current circumstances. I was always curious as to why it was such a popular location for people to commit suicide. Aren't there are lot of cliffs in Sydney and why was the Gap/ South Head special? But when I saw it, it made a bit more sense. There is a wavecut shelf at the bottom of the cliff which effectively guarantees an impact, as morbid as that sounds.

In memory of Don Ritchie.

The cameras.

Six Flags over Georgia

29th September 2012
Six Flags over Georgia is the nearest theme park and is located just outside of Atlanta in Austell. Life on exchange wasn't all rosy and there were many, many moments where it felt as though I was back in highschool. Not as 18 year olds, but back when I was 13. Yes, the arguments were that juvenile and pettiness was rampant. Long story short, I got booted  from a group of people who were driving to Six Flags, formed my own group and off we went. I didn't drive, but an exchange student from USYD drove and it was an interesting experience to be on the other side of the road as well as first time on the interstate.

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The Ninja! This was my favourite ride.

I am not a fan of roller coasters. I hate the drop; the feeling of being out of my seat momentarily freaks me out. And when I freak out, I don't scream. Rather, I go into shut down mode and I just close my eyes and pray for it to all be over. Plus, I also am scared of heights.

I have to say, that I am very proud that I got onto each ride that the group wanted to go on at least once except for the first one that we went to: The Daredevil Dive. I didn't go on it because 95° first drop (!!). However, I eventually didn't want to be a party pooper, and I wanted to challenge myself. My favourite was The Ninja because it was just about speed and loops and not many drops, which I was content with. List of all the rides. Some were more memorable than others.

Batman: The Ride: feet dangling is a bit weird. A little unnerving I guess although I loved how tight the harness was so that I literally couldn't budge. A problem that I have (and it is probably why I don't fare well on the drop roller coasters) is that normally the position that it locks still leaves a gap - larger than one that I would like- left between the bar and me, ergo the shifting during the ride in addition to the actual free fall.

Georgia Scorcher: a stand up rollercoaster, theoretically. But I didn't think that I could do it so I ended up sitting/ squatting. It was not great.

Superman: Ultimate Flight: you are parallel to the track which was an interesting experience. Had too many loops and it was very freaky when it was so close to the ground.

Georgia Cyclone: this is wooden roller coaster. This basically meant that it was very very rocky and shakey and also too many drops. Not major drops, but still too many dips. Though everyone loved it and since the line was short, everyone went on it at least 3 times whilst I rode it once and then sat and waved to everyone from the side.

Acrophobia: a free fall drop ride of 50m. As I said before, I am terrified of heights and this one (and the Goliath) was the one that I was most scared about. If I was on something stable, I probably would have enjoyed the view that I saw from the top. But I was too busy in my zone, trying to remain calm and zen. It was not good. But I made it!

USYD-er's photos and his captions. Love it.

Thunder River: this was the funnest one. It was a typical river rafting ride, though the best part was that at one point, random people who are in the park can slot in a quarter and shoot the water cannons at the rafts that go by. Everyone got drenched but it was brilliant.

Splashwater Falls: the line was crazy for this ride but it was sort of worth it. It's a ride where everyone (riders and bystanders) are guaranteed to get drenched as it's those rides where the boat goes down a steep incline (whilst in water).

Goliath

Goliath is a hyper coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard and opened in April 2006, Goliath reaches a height of 200 feet (61 m), and a top speed of 70 mph (110 km/h). Its 4,480 feet (1,370 m) of track is spread out over an 8.5-acre (34,000 m2) site.

*shudders* This one already looked terrifying from afar; it is the only roller coaster that you can see when driving on the interstate from a good few kilometres away. It basically loops through most of the theme park. This was the last ride that we could go on before the park closed and I became persuaded to go on the roller coaster. The ride uses a lap bar which I fear (it just feels so ... unsecure) plus there was a whole 5cm gap between the bar and my lap.

Copied and pasted from wikipedia:

Goliath begins as the coaster leaves the station and turns left to start up the 200-foot (61 m) lift hill. Upon reaching the top, it drops 170 feet (52 m) to the midway below. The roller coaster angles to the left slightly as it climbs the second hill, crossing over the Georgia Scorcher roller coaster and two other attractions in a single bound. The second drop, the tallest on the ride at 175 feet (53 m), travels down towards the park's entrance road and out of the park grounds. At the bottom of the hill, the roller coaster makes another left turn above a pond and climbs again. The third hill leads to a 129-foot (39 m) drop, also over water.

Goliath starts its return trip by climbing to the top of a 540-degree spiral, making a full circle and half of another as it descends. After another hill, the roller coaster then enters a sharply-banked right turn, returning to the station via a series of smaller hills. Goliath's on-ride camera takes the riders' photographs before the train makes a final left-hand turn with a short hop onto the brakes, ending the ride.

TL;DR: it was bad news. Like Acrophobia, I probably could have enjoyed the view if I wasn't freaked out. The sun was starting to set and the sky had a really pretty glow. Well, that is at least what I saw in the micro-second where I actually looked. But during that first drop (52m) I just went into total shut down mode. I closed my eyes for the entire ride and it was very long, very loopy and way too many drops in the entire track. Or at least it felt long, it probably was all over in a minute. Somehow, and I don't even remember when, I ended up having a death grip on Sunbear's hand. When the ride was over, I am not entirely sure why, but I became overcome with emotion and just sighed and got a little teary (not crying) and USYD-er went, "it's all over now". Argh.

Though, at the end of the day I was very proud of myself for going on rides that I didn't want to at all. I will never go on a free fall ride again (my first and last time) nor will I go on those crazy roller coasters like the Goliath. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and I realised, hey, I like being in my comfort zone. 

We didn't have GPS nor did we have a map and on the way back we got lost as we overshot the exit, but we soon rectified the mistake. Unlike the other car who drove completely in the wrong direction and ended up in the wrong side of town.