Exciting times of a boring man.

East Coast Roadie #1

2010-08-20T11:02:00.001+10:00

June 15 came around and as we'd very poorly planned, we packed up our bus 'Bessie' and set off on what would be the next 6 weeks of our lives. The only things we had planned were a few animal parks, rain forests and beaches along the way, and a rough time to meet some friends in Brisbane, but that was it. We figured we stay one to three days in each place depending on if we liked it, talk to anyone we meet and we'd just hug the coast the entire way up.

Now, that's a lot easier said than done. I think the trip totalled about 5600Kms and that's stopping at A LOT of places. If we'd visited every small town we went past, the odometer would've had to add another digit (not really, but it's a looong way).

All we had was a limited amount of cash and a promise to our jobs that we'd a) come back and b) do it by the end of July.

It turns out that the beginning of winter is a perfect time to see the east coast of Australia. It's bloody cold in Canberra, and it's beautiful everywhere else. That pretty much sums it up.

See?

We packed everything we needed, only forgetting some chairs (didn't think it was worth the space - wrong) and mistaking an omelet maker for a sandwich press. Don't laugh, the van has multiple power outlets. Who wouldn't take electrical appliances of you have the space?

First stop, Fitzroy Falls, NSW.

That metal grate is see-through and it SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME. I didn't know I was standing on it and looked down. Urgh.

Gorgeous.

First night, Huskisson, Jervis Bay. Powered site (how lazy are we? first night in!)

It looks pretty cramped but it was comfy as hell. Sure it got cold but that's why you take 4 blankets with you, durh.

Lights work!

This was our delux kitchen for the next while. Setup duties : Scott.

And these were basically the clothes I wore the whole time.

HYGENIC.

Native Laser Possums.

If you look at them directly you get cancer.

Our first sunrise awakening. Tough life.

May to October is northern migration season for humpback whales. Ash talked me into going on a whalewatch tour and I obliged.

$60 for 3 hours I think.

Went out past the headland and Bowen Island (on the right) and maybe only a nautical mile or so south east of the coast.

Wasn't long before we saw a whale or two.

They are surprisingly active hey. I mean, my camera was not fast enough, but they jump quite high out of the water and you can get pretty close. Really neat stuff.

One snuck up behind us then swam right underneath us and surprised everyone. It was directly at the end of the boat, so crazy.

Then it just swam away like nobody's business. Ha

That was the 2.5hr stage so we puttered back into Jervis bay.

3hrs goes quickly.

We found a dollar store and I tried more stupid hats on.

Dad told us about Hymes Beach from his days at the Naval Academy. The sand is some of the whitest in the world (if not the whitest) and is mined for production into glass fit for the hubble telescope. That's what Ash told me anyway. Neato.

*sigh* I guess it's pretty white.

Stayed another night and put the tarp up since the weather looked crumby.

Burritos and CHEERS BEERS

We left Jervis the next day and trundled north stopping at Kiama to show Ash the blowhole. (I'm not that good at driving and taking photos - hence the sudden arrival)

Shit weather equalled no swell equalled lousy blowhole.

We continued up through Wollongong (seen it) and Cronulla Area (seen it) and through Sydney (everyone's seen it) to a place called Lane Cove. Still technically Sydney as it's only 10Kms north, but you're on the edge of a National Park and you don't feel like you're in Sydney at all. Crazy.

Set up shop again.

Saw a handful of Kookaburras straight away.

and brush turkeys!

and rad old Bedford campers!

We took a stroll down to the river but it was getting dark so we assigned it to tomorrows adventures.

That nights adventures included meeting the locals.

The very tame and imposing locals.

Night night.

Good morning.

Went for a good long walk down one of the park trails along the river.

Saw awesome nature.

and tiny bouquets of nature.

One tree branch ring to rule them all.

The rainbow lorikeets were waiting inside this guys annex for some food.

The brush turkey was just being a pleb.

Onward from Lane Cove the next day, was up to Copacabana.

We went there to meet Nagle and Maddy briefly.

They took us up to the lookout to whale-spot some more.

None.

Then to Rojo Rockets for some expensive but delicious and comical mexican.

Needless to say, the place was rad.

Checkout their frikkin hearse, for gods sake.

After lunch it was along to Terrigal to check out more beautiful headland and get an icecream.

There were lots of bogans out because there was a football game on, but hey, they live here, so who's the dumb one, really?

Hello Nagle. Hello Maddy.

"Maximum Chur"

Just a quick stop since we had to beat the rotation of the earth and head to Monmura Nature Reserve. We bought an annual NSW Nat. Parks Camping Pass back in Lane Cove so we directed ourselves towards any national parks where camping was permitted. Awesome.

We were the only ones at this place, save for a few intrepid fisherman.

Them and 6 or so coal freighters of the coast.

More beer and dinner and sleeps.

Headed north the next day through Newcastle (which I didn't feel was worth photographing) an on to Port Stephens, Nelson Bay to be precise.

Stooped by our old house which we lived in about 15 years ago.

Street has changed a bit.

This was the street I bailed down in rollerblades when I was younger. Hit a gutter and took a HEAP of skin off my side. Still got the scar. Ahh, memories.

Down to Bagnalls Beach.

And into town to the jetty.

We went to the tourist info place (seemed the staple activity we did in each town) and found a backpackers resort to stay in at nearby Anna Bay.

The place is called Melaleuca Backpackers and it was fucking awesome. Sure there were only 2 other backpackers there, but hey, I think it worked out alright. It was this tropical backpackers set on 6 acres with two houses on it (where the owners lived) big outdoor toilet and shower blocks connected by board walks and a seperate block of huge dorm rooms. Since we had the van, we just pulled up in their woodchipped parking lot for kombi's and used their facilities. Cheap and awesome.

Talking to the owners, they told us to stop by Bellingen on our way North. I took this photo to remember.

They also said drive up the road and check out the whale from Boat Harbour Point.

Done.

Hard to see but there were a few whales there playing and jumping out of the water. By this point we'd seen 20 or so whales up the coast already so we first-wordly didn't think too much of it. Pricks.

There was this dip in the rocks where you could go forward and scale the hill and get on the Eastern most point of the headland. None of the golden oldies could do it though so there were younger people on one hill, and oldies on another, haha

Back to camp!

We were told they had a resident Kangaroo named Josie and that she was pretty tame. So tame infact that you just call her name and she hops to you.

This is the face of a Canadian touching a kangaroo for the first time.

The sun was going down so we made some food and relaced at the picnic tables with some beer and some books.

Then we saw their taxidermied frog and their local toilet possums.

NEAT.

This all happened from the 15th June to about the 20th or 21st or so.

I'll put the other 6 trillions photos up soon. PROMISE.

old old old

2010-08-20T09:16:00.000+10:00

Since we went road tripping and took a zillion photos, I have been too lazy to add anything here, dreading the amount of time it will take. Fuck it.

Back at the start of June, we went to Thredbo for the opening weekend, no riding, just drinking and fireworks and old people and dinner and walks. Awesome.

It was quite foggy at the start of winter. I love it.

I always feel sorry for people who book their skiiing holiday for the opening weekend WHEN THERE'S NO SNOW.

Just creepy babes on stilts.

Fireworks were pretty good though. Felt like they were soooo close.

The morning we left (only stayed 2 days and one night) we had an early breakfast up at Eagles Nest followed by a Hike out to Mt Kosciuszko.

Ash hates heights but braved the chairlift.

Hhamazing

Mt K in the background.

Fun time's over.

Pretty quick Thredbo trip, but always worth the drive.

Rufus was glad we were home. MMMmmmmmmmm

How To: Stickers

2010-04-16T13:27:00.001+10:00

Okay, I said in the last post that I'd put a 'How To' up on DIY stickers, so here goes nothin'. It's so easy, even your dumb ex-girlfriend could do it.

Sorry for the crappy resolution, but click the pictures if you want em' bigger.

You will need, a pencil, a sharpie or permanent texta, some tracing paper, a stanley knife or scalpel, and some masking tape (not too tacky).

You'll also obviously need some sticker vinyl. I usually either purchase a meter or two (which lasts ages) from any industrial signage supply store, or if you have a pretty face, ask if you can score some either free or cheaply from your friendly local sign shop. All sign shops have vinyl off-cuts that they either recycle or throw away. If they tell you they don't have any, they're lying to you.

For this sticker you only need a piece of white vinyl, 100ml x 150ml.

Firstly, choose an image you'd like made in to a sticker. I'll be using this Pitbull image for the back of my van since I feel strongly about the message. Be careful not to choose something too detailed as there'll be a lot of cutting involved. Then again, don't choose something wussy and easy, give yourself a challenge.

With some stencil paper, cover and trace your image as best as you can. No need to press hard, just get the lines close as there's more tracing to come. Since I'm going to be removing the black parts of this stencil, I shaded them lightly to discern them from the other areas.

Now that you've traced the image, disregard your original image printout, flip your stencil paper over, and trace it again on the reverse side of the stencil paper. Make sure you push a bit harder this time while still being as neat as you can.

Now that you've got both sides of your tracing paper done, flip it back over to its correct side. Find that good bit of sticker vinyl we talked about earlier, make sure it covers the whole image you'll make it into, and lay it under the tracing paper. Some people use small bits of tape to secure their vinyl and paper from moving during tracing, however this isn't needed if you always place your non-drawing hand firmly on the edge of the paper.

I've drawn a little border around this image however it's not overly important. You can always do it later.

Start tracing over the stencil one more time once it's correctly positioned on your vinyl. Be sure not to move the tracing paper at all, however you need not be quite as neat as you're really only just transferring the underside pencil graphite to the sticker vinyl with force.

Once it's all traced, removed the tracing paper and discard it. You'll be left with an outline of your design on the vinyl relevant to how hard and accurately you traced it.

Grab your sharpie or texta (in this case, a fine line one) and start tracing the outline on the vinyl. Since I'm right handed, I start at the top left of the design and work my way to the bottom right so as not to smudge it.

Outline your border too so you'll know where to cut it. You could leave it at this point as a sticker however depending on the application, the texta outline may fade over time. I like detailed stickers that are rewarding to create but quite annoying to remove, hence, I'll be cutting out the black areas of this design.

Grab your stanley knife and start cutting. Use your judgement on how close to cut some lines apart from others. Remember, all the white parts will stay and the black will be removed. For this sticker though, I won't remove the text at the bottom as it's too small and fiddley. Not worth the effort.

Be careful when you're removing your black areas as smaller white bits that you need may still be attached to them. I never throw any areas away either until then sticker is 100% finished, that way if I'm missing a small part, I can usually find it from the small pile of off-cuts.

Almost there. Tedious, I know.

Crappy close-up. Remember to cut out even the smallest parts of black, in this case the whisker dimples, etc.

I think I'm pretty much done. Can't forget to peel around the outside border too..

Done. These remaining black parts on the face are from texta outline that has spilled over the cutting area. Not important, as we can always wipe them off once the sticker's applicated.

Grab your masking tape (in this case I only had a small width roll) and starting at either the bottom or the top - depending on how you'll line up your sticker to applicate it (in this case the bottom) - cover the sticker horizontally in as many strips as it takes. Overlap them all very slightly so the masking tape stays together.

Once taped, press firmly all over the face of the sticker so that all areas of the vinyl adhere to the underside of the masking tape. Run your knife down each side to trim off excess tape.

Hold up your creation and admire! (this shot is in front of a light, hence the altered shades)

Before applying, ensure the area you're going to stick it to is clean and dry. My van window has dark window tinting on it that will emulate the black I've removed. It's also best to apply your sticker in pressing motions starting from the middle outwards. You want to push any air pockets out towards the edges. Perhaps use a ruler edge or something flat to do the job for you.

Doesn't look too bad, hey? If you want to get rid of excess texta outline, simply dab some methylated spirits on a rag and wipe the offending areas.

Finished!

Some other sticker ideas might include:

- Letter box house numbers (don't buy that shit from a hardware store, DIY, or better yet, change your neighbour's for fun),

- Name and Title signs from glass office doors (change your boss's acronym to P.O.S while they're on lunch) or,

- 'Nice Park Dickhead' or equally offensive surprise car stickers (cut out each letter and peel away the excess leaving a sticker consisting of 16 individual letters - pain in the arse for drivers to remove from their windscreens)

Remember, you're only limited by your imagination (or what your printer can spit out). Have fun.

back on track, porno rack

2010-04-11T09:38:00.000+10:00

man it's good to have my drum kit back

These used to be called Golliwogs. I think Arnotts they changed them due to complaints. Could be wrong.

Cashed up kids (not for long - that's the van money)

BOMSHANKA!

Remember children, Meat is Murder.

I worked one day at Kamberra Wine Company helping out a mate, just bottling about 8 THOUSAND CHARDONNAYS. holy fuck. it was fun though, and I got 2 free bottles and $130 bucks. that'll do.

Rode around on the beater. Fell off the beater. Love the beater.

Uh-oh, leopard print...

This is a little dam down near the RSPCA.

Yum.

Skittles! What a weak name for a tough dog.

Floaters.

Passing through Moruya one day.

I thought the back of my head looked funny. Now I have proof.

Hi Rufus.

I took this photo and he said "Do you fucking mind?"

No shit.

Issey loves ballz.

NOM

nnnnnneeeeeeooooooowwwwww

Deftones have a new album out next month. Not too bad from what I've already heard. Pity there's no Chi though.

Spray painted some bread baskets for a DIY roof-rack for the van.

..and made some stickers! yeeeeaah

didn't make this one though.

If you want to know how to make stickers, it's EASY. I'll put up a better how to with better photos and instructions later, but basically it involves tracing a design a couple of times, transfering that to sticker paper, tracing in texta or other marker, then cutting out each letter individually.

Then you put masking tape over it, peel it back, and..

Voila! Individual lettered stickers.

Luke is mean to Daisy.

But it's only because he's a bit slow.

Folks coast house at night.

The view from the van in the morning. At the coast, it is beer time all the time. This, you cannot fight.

Surprisingly comfortable, even when parked on an angle.

Sunday night before easter Monday we drove to a friends place in Bingi and stayed on their property in their SICK caravan shanty town.

Nice deck.

Caravans everywhere, big holes everywhere, Dead birds everywhere. It was great.

Outside dunny.

Spare parts garage. Neat, but kinda had this creepy Wolf Creek feel to it, like it contained all the belongings of previous travellers who've recently deceased...

Louie Louie

Morning Ash!

Morning legs!

Let's go the beach!

so we did.

and this is what we saw...

Amazing. Perfect day.

Pity we couldn't stay longer.

back at home...

I always forget about just how good our porno-racks are. We got them second hand a decade ago, well, because...

..they were from a porn distribution warehouse. Wicked Sick.

Pretty ladies who like anal, or ladies who have pretty anals? HA

It's only natural.

who ever thought rape would sell 11 times over.

C-C-C-COMBO

HAHAH

'Girls Who Fingerbang Themselves'

'Girls Who Suck Cock and Eat Cum'

'Oral Cumshots H/Core'

Hahaha, aw man, they never get old. And to think mum wanted it to face the wall. Geez.

books, looks, and crooks

2010-04-09T09:09:00.000+10:00

Here's the start of the year up to end of Feb I think...

Went to borders and took photos of books I liked so that I could then rent them at the ACT Library. Sweeeet

I'm halfway through most of these books, only having finished a couple so far.

Ash painted a bear to look RADICAL.

"do you like dags?"

Ash's pink beater.

Townhouse faces.

Went to Melbourne to stay with Anna and Garth and go to the Laneway Festival. They live in Kensington and are LOVELY.

'Dunvegan'

Photos of people dancing are much more tolerable than actually watching people dance.

The sister.

The Johnston.

Back home, and the weather's coming over..

Issey no like.

Rufus no care.

Made to be eaten actually.

Sad to see racism so prevalent.

Nat. Gallery kids

Mid-Feb I found out an old mate of a mate was selling his van (my dream car circa 3 years back) so I got in touch and took a look. Couldn't believe my luck.

1980 Ford Transit Kombi. Decked out as a camper, runs on petrol and LPG, dual batteries, spotlights, bed, sink, lights everywhere, velour roof(!) and a god damn shotgun compartment!

Killer sound system too, heaps of space, double (foldout) bed, storage, interior power outlets and spots for microwave and fridge (if we want them).

Ash has already started making leopard print curtains and I've switched in to handyman mode for some minor repairs.

Says 'Poppie's Truck' on the front and 'L'Escargot' on the back. We'll be keeping those memories thank you very much. I'll update later with more photos of mods, stickers and stories. woooot

Went back down the coast for a post valentines day getaway, just the girl and I. Stayed in my relo's holiday flat at Lake Conjola.

That one up the back left!

yeah that one!

Sweeeeet

Gorgeous view. There had recently been a monsoon amount of rain so the place was really green and beautiful.

Ulladulla. 'Grandma's Glory Box'. NO THANKS OLD GIRL

I cleaned this bitch out at Monopoly. Never played before ever.

Lake Conjola was beautiful and almost open to the sea so we went for a swim.

Looking East towards New Zealand.

Water temp must have been 22 degrees. Insane.

"How's the serenity..."

Ass.ort.ment

2010-03-26T10:27:00.000+11:00

Here is a whirlwind of pictures to get me up to date. These things were witnessed, oldest first, between November in the past and the middle of January this year.

Click 'em if you want 'em bigger. You know the drill.

Saying Goodbye to Joe at Mary's. Poor Bastard. WE LOVE YOU JOE

Back on Vancouver Island at Ash's nans place

Bug.

I learnt crib!

What a hot mannequin, someone just left on the side of the road.

Went to see Jessie at the piercing shop.

That night Ash discovered that her septum hadn't closed over fully.

Went back to the shop the next day and got my bridge pierced.

Jessie's Dads van (SWEEET)

Jessie's old blues brothers car (RIP)

Paul's boat. Wicked sick.

Click this creepy panoramic above and check out Ash's ghost looking at herself. eww

Bye bye Island.

Bye bye Vancouver.

Herro Tokyo!

Free origami turtle with currency exchange!

Painful flight progress.

Saying that, Japan airlines prem. economy class is wicked comfy.

Goulburn, big ram.

First day back, cider time.

Feed the swanz

Drove down the coast the next day to check on my folks holiday house building progress. Coming along nicely. Too big guys, too big.

Mosquito lane cesspool.

The view closer to Tuross Lake. Nice huh.

Pan of Ash's first Australian beach.

She was speechless.

One Tree Beach.

Questacon in Canberra.

Peter Garret is always on TV here.

This time it was to say hi to Joe.

Luke did a stencil of Eddie Mabo at The Front.

Baby hippo!

Near our house. Awesome.

Issey!

Kangaroos just hangin' out on a golfcourse.

Stupid mockup drawing/idea for a stomach tattoo (however much I may actually be considering it..)

It says 'You, Me, Sting Pong, Now.'

Canberra Zoo & Aquarium.

Hello.

Still droughtin'.

All kangaroos do is hang out.

Stuffed mushrooms!

Was walking dogs at the RSPCA and saw this little gem of a hang out. Note to self; come back here with bikes and skate boards.

Toilet possum is creepin'!

Went to Alistair's in Sydney for New Years and to show Ash the city and see friends. This is his radical shower curtain

and outside his radical house in Glebe.

Train to Wollongong to meet the lads.

This is the view from the pub. No shit.

Cronulla.

On new years eve, we went to Darling Harbour to go to the Aquarium and the Wildlife World. Neato.

A trillion insects in a mirrored box.

Croc.

Inland Taipan maybe? I forget. Either way, we have like all of the 10 most deadliest snakes right here in our states.

10-12 foot croc. Apparently Northern Territory has over 100 Thousand crocodiles in its waters. They have a population of just over 200 Thousand people. 1 croc for ever 2 people? No thanks Nature.

More mother fuckers, just lounging. Seriously guys.

Took the ferry to Al's folks place to watch the fireworks and be merry.

Ash got her tourist on.

and her hair.

The big man himself!

That was about the best photo I got. They went for 8 minutes. lame.

Harbour Bridge to Luna Park, then Tebe and Lisa's house!

Still creepy after all these years.

Up near Avalon and the northern beaches.

This place was overlooking Palm Beach (where Home and Away is filmed). I had to laugh.

What's that quote? "Is it not enough to see that the garden is beautiful without having to imagine there is fairies at the bottom of it?"

Get real, religion.

'Only one god!' Yeah, ok guys. Stop ruining the view.

Tebe trying to fit into his dog Yoshi's shirt (a Yoshi shirt, no less)

Our beers left a Salad Fingers face on the bench. Awesome/Creepy. (why so many creepy things as of late..?)

Massive storm approaching. So exciting.

It PISSED down about 7 minutes after this shot..

Next day, back to Sydney to train it home to Canberra.

Walked around the Rocks.

Spot the rabbits!

Back at work, bored and drawing. Same old, same old.

Went back to the spot with Shaq. Pity it was 35 Degrees and we had no water and we'd ridden 20kms to get there. Idiots.

Nat. Museum.

Phillipa!

Not yet awake Ash.

Back to the coast, stayed at Potato Point (Spud Point)

Check on the house, it has walls and windows!

Beach combing.

This caber must have been floating for ages before being propped up on the beach by a Scotsman..

Hundreds of thousands of years of history.

And that'll do for now.

USA 4 - Noo Yark Sittie!

2010-01-11T13:11:00.000+11:00

Okay, I know I'm late with this one but stuff it. Since being home, we've been sharing one computer for 4 people so I can never be bothered to upload hundreds of photos. I've finally gotten around to it and realised they're quite boring. So, enjoy.

I'll try and simplify it down from now on.

New York was for a few days at the end of October. Rained most of the time. We stayed in this awesome little (expensive-ish) bedsit studio apartment place on 88th and 4th or 5th Ave. It was neat.

It was tiny.

Jules totes bought a rain deflector.

I want to wrap this mesh all around the trees in my neighbourhood park.

New York is fucking huge.

Too huge.

We strolled past the Rockerfeller centre by accident and had a look at the ice rink they were setting up. NEAT

The some NBC lady flagged us down and tried to give us free Jimmy Fallon Late show tickets on standby to which we accepted then no-showed. I'd much rather stare at huge buildings than a huge dick from tv.

God damn ping pong in the public park! argh

It was closed though. sheeeit

We saw a public toilet that we all needed to use and inside found....

...self-cleaning toilet seat covers! cool. kinda weird to watch in action though. just kind of shuffles it around really slowly fooling you in to thinking its cleaned. hmm

anyway, so since we were near, we did the early evening Times Square jaunt

and can I just say,

it was gross.

Technological feat, woo-bloody-hoo. It was an advertising rape. YES, I know that's how it works, and I know that WE were there taking photos of it like everyone else does, but it's still dumbfounding. I mean, we overheard people talking about how 'they've been waiting their lives to come here', same as in Vegas. what the fuck.

Must be an advertisers dream. I can imagine the board meeting in the very early days.. "Wait, Mr CEO, you mean to tell me we can create this intersection, so to speak, and just put our companies ads there and some flashy lights, and people will just come and stare at them? It sounds a bit too good to be true"

Well it is, for them. Funny and sad how the world works.

I find it funny how people complain about global warming and want people to drive less and turn off more lights (which I do and also promote) but then don't think twice about having any problem with places such as this which needlessly requires a million times more power than your home does every year.

Oh yeah, but turn off those extra 50watt light bulbs, OK?

Jules and I were gobsmacked.

These intersections were gridlocked the whole time too, I was constantly wondering why anyone would drive through Times Square as opposed to finding an alternate route. Then I remembered we were in New York and it was all fucking crazy.

My life store.

Fucking garbage EVERYWHERE. There must have been some bin strike or something.

The subways were sick neat, however they were always crammed full of people and New Yorkers seem to think they're entitled to a half meter grace of personal space (like it's fucking possible during rush hour) and I was casually told with hand gestures TWICE to 'back up'

And go where you idiots? just outside? Grow an parietal lobe in your walnut brains.

We went out a cool little gaming bar (as in shuffle board and darts and pool, you nerds) in Alphabet City (around Avenues A, B and C) which is also where all the Kareoke bars are.

These alarms are a pretty good idea, but just the fact that a city this large needs to have them is kind of worrying. I guess its still good.

To the Brooklyn..

Neck Face!

We walked from the subway back towards the Brooklyn Bridge from the Brooklyn side.

Awesome old alleys and architecture.

This guy was just working in the sun (since it was warm for October) and Shannon went to pat his dog and the little guy barked his face off at her pretty viciously. HILARIOUS. This is her skipping away post haste.

Brooklyn Bridge looking back towards Manhattan.

Twerp.

I want a READ UP OH YES sticker.

Statue of French Generosity in the background

Stopped for some pizza and tourist catch-up.

Kick arse.

We walked south once back in the city and found ourselves headed loosely for the ferry to Statten Island. The walk took us through the financial district and some seriously expensive apartment neighbourhoods.

I saw some guys protesting the Bank of America and went to grab a flyer but it was just some republican patriot guys thinking the bank qualified as 'rats' for engaging in anything other than American related activites. That's what I got from it anyway. The guys looked like they would all own guns and hate hippies and use the word socialist without knowing its meaning.

We ran in to the WTC site by chance so we walked by it and got some pics. It's a lot bigger than you realise. I was just trying to picture the whole area covered in ash and dust and carnage like I can remember from the live news feed. Crazy times at NY High.

Click the panoramic for a better judgement of size..

haha, 'Yield to Bo Burnham'

Getting near the Statue of Liberty Ferry terminal (the one you pay for - suckers), there was like 5 or 6 SOL buskers lined up near each other. In fact, we probably saw a good 10-12 of these guys on our whole NY adventure. I can understand busking, but doing the same thing as your mate next door? what the hell.

I guess they're making more money than me, so sho's the idiot now?

We kept walking to get to the Statten Island Ferry since it was free and goes right past the SOL anyway. A nice tip we got from a local NY dancer/stripper lady we met in the airport of San Fran. Thanks lady!

It was nuts just trying to get on the thing.

Tourist time!

We pulled in to port and got off the ferry the literally turned around and waited for the next ferry back to Manhattan. We didn't want to see much on the island and we had other shit to do.

Like drink beer on the return journey!

Getting back to the city and trying to find a taxi was a shit fight. I can't imagine living in this city and not owning a pushbike or scooter of some description. Cabs are cheap, but its a total challenge to get one around 4-6pm.

Shannon decided on the wrong shoes for the days walk.

We went to some bar that night, I forget which one it was but we never really had late nights there. Funny.

Each morning we sat on the fire escape to wake up and pretend we were locals.

Scott J shop.

Today was central park day to start.

Scary cop cars.

Constipated Jules.

We were at the wrong end of the park so it was quicker to CATCH THE SUBWAY to the other end than walk. So we did.

This was a day or two before the NY Marathon so stuff was set up everywhere in anticipation.

We got roped into a horse and carriage ride around central park which was actually a nice way to see it if you have 4 people or you're a rich tourist.

More trash!

There's the ice rink bit

Other suckers

Our horse guy was from somewhere in the middle east and loved designer clothes (even though he's probably only worn rip offs) so much he called his horse Armani. He also though 'all women were beautiful' and that 'they were made for men' (as in to serve and be there for men). We quickly tried to set him straight but you can't really convince some people in their beliefs when they know of nothing else.

The horse was beautiful and he assured us that it wasn't mistreated and that he had a good home. Why do I never believe these people? Oh well, you can only take their word for it.

Speaking of wierd art, we did go to the NY Museum of Modern Art too for a couple of hours, but I can't be bothered uploading a trillion more photos. It was pretty good though.

Empire State Building.

Catching a cab down to the village and next to SoHo, we saw this gent making awesome shapes out of coloured sand. Wicked sick.

Very tame squirrels.

Pub lunch!

This pool reminded me of the movies 'Kids' where they scale the fence and go swimming at night then Harold gets his wang out and shakes it for the ladies. Classic cinema.

It was getting dark when we strolled through SoHo and Jules and I didn't care for much apart form an art store where or there, but when we stumbled across Evolution, we shat ourselves. This place is a two-story science museum/store filled with life, death, truth and wonder. It's all for sale (at reasonable to ridiculous prices) and there's things in there you can't imagine. Check out the website. They even had the reconstructed bones of siamese twins who died after birth with their heads still joined.

(Note; if you want to buy stuff off their site and get it sent overseas, check the rules and regs. first. A lot of their stuff is considered deceased material and scientific specimens and would be denied entry at customs even if you've paid for it in full)

Amazing.

This skull was around $14k I believe.

Those bones on the top right are penis bones from some tiny marsupial, I forget.

Porcupine quills, fossil necklaces, meteorites, any time of skull or bone you can imagine.

I wanted to buy Ash a 4.5 billion year old (yes, you heard right) piece of meteorite on a necklace but it was only slightly out of my price reach. I settled on a 30 million year old piece of red Chinese sea coral instead. A little bit more affordable.

I think this shop said 'Wank' something or other.

On the 30th of October, Kate wanted us to go to Susan Sarandon's ping pong club Spin, so we bought tickets online, got some shitty costumes (actually Jules' beard was amazing) and trudged down the 25th St. It's basically a huge space underground that has 10 ping pong tables and a bar and a restaurant in it. Pretty neat. There's attractive staff everywhere and guys who zip around with nets catching all the loose ping pong balls while every plays in complete disregard for skills or grace.

It was a Rocky Horror Picture Show tribute night too so they did a sing and dance thing there and Susan made some guest appearance. We saw that they sold bottles of beer so went went back up to the street and bought some booze from a convenience store and smuggled it back in. Smart thinking 99.

There was a window that looked out to an active subway line where commuters kinda shuffled past and couldn't really see in. Weird.

Shitty photos, I know.

They did a little sing and dance of the RHPS songs which was pretty neat. So many chicks and dudes in hot fishnets and black leather.

We went to a couple of other places that night but it was all same same gross kinda city clubs with too many people. We bailed by 2am I think as I was leaving the next day nice and early.

Caught a cab in the morning to Jersey (newark) where my plane was leaving from. I should have totally gotten up earlier and done my research (eg. caught a bus) as it was a $90 cab, with part of it a $17 Newark flagfall. fuck that.

Jersey looks about as shit as everyone makes it out to be. I feel sorry for it actually.

Anyway, that's it. USA adventures over. Flew home through seattle that day and straight in to Vancouver Halloween. Fun times. It was great to see Kate and Jules again and travel with them and Shannon but holy fuck, the states are just too much to deal with. Sure they have almost anything they need or want but that's the problem. I think a country that can gain that much has had to rely on others to sacrifice at their own expense. There's beauty mixed with the ugly like anywhere on earth but I am safe to say that I don't live there. I could live in San Francisco but it would still be under American Law and values so I think I'll pass thanks.

It was still something I'm glad I saw in my adult years and perhaps I'll see it again. For now though I'm happy to live in a smaller town with the people I know and love.

Who knows what 2010 will bring. More travel, more adventure, less apathy.

See you later kids.