From - Plattsburgh
To – Plattsburgh
Proudest Moment of The Day – An bloke in the pub asking me if I was English because I was good at darts. I nearly cried with pride.
Today’s Photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157609829880149/
Americana wasn’t intentionally the theme of Day 18 – it just kind of worked out that way because we had made the unwise decision the previous day to stay on in Plattsburgh for an extra night so that, primarily, we could put some quality time in Dick’s Sporting Goods. It turned out to be a bit of a mistake because a) we ended up buying nothing from Dick’s Sporting Goods and b) there really is very little to do here and, despite being on the shore of Champlain Lake (pronounced like Champagne but with an ‘L’) it’s not really very nice. In fact, as a guy told us in the 20 minute wait for a table in Applebees (yes, you read that right – a 20 minute wait for a chain restaurant) that northern New York’s biggest industry is correction facilities (that’s prison to you and me). Now I’m not claiming that all Northern New York towns are inhabited by crims but it does take a certain slightly twisted mind-set to buy a house next to a prison and the presence of such establishments does mess with the atmosphere somewhat.
Anyway, our day started, as per usual, by looking for a walk for Molly which took us into the centre of town where we strolled along the shoreline back-dropped by the water treatment facility and the occasional putrid blast of sewage cleansing steam. Not an ideal start to the day.
So then Americana began. First stop – The Mall. With the vague mission of getting Molly a sturdier bed for the car we hit Petsmart and Lowes which were both big enough to comfortably fit in Wales and Ireland. Walking round both of these shops probably totaled 20 miles which was more than enough to build up an appetite although, to be fair, eating a meal seems to be enough to build up an appetite at the moment – it must be the cold weather and nothing to do with being a pair of greedy oinkers. Being in the middle of a shopping plaza and not having driven meant we were at the mercy of the chain restaurants but I’m not moaning as I really wanted to try Applebees. I have to say that, despite a hideously big
starter, I had a really tasty salad (with fried chicken of course) and Kate seemed happy with hers so for $30 all-in I can understand why these places flourish. Now I just need to convince Kate that Aplebees or its ilk would make a good anniversary venue rather than the slightly pricier Ramsey establishments that she seems to gravitate towards on such occasions.
Bowling was next on the Americana check-list a
nd we took on the US pseudonyms of Britney Spokes and Chad Bologne for the big game. We managed three games which Kate claimed victory in all of despite scoring about 60% of my score in each – I am still not entirely clear on the exact rules when playing sports with girls but I have noticed the recurring theme that I seem to lose even if I break an existing world record.
The evening involved piling into town (this was a Saturday night after all and we are crazy young people) where an inspection of each of the pubs through their window resulted in Olive Ridley’s being chosen as officially the busiest pub in town. What we only realized after getting through the door was that the busyness was caused by a sorority party that specialized in screaming and microphone feedback. Still, it took a good few pints and some mock pub lottery (it would take too long to explain) before we moved venue and found another electronic dart board. I might have to throw out my snowboard and golf clubs to make room for one of these magical machines in the back of Bridget but it will be well worth it.
To – Plattsburgh
Proudest Moment of The Day – An bloke in the pub asking me if I was English because I was good at darts. I nearly cried with pride.
Today’s Photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157609829880149/
Americana wasn’t intentionally the theme of Day 18 – it just kind of worked out that way because we had made the unwise decision the previous day to stay on in Plattsburgh for an extra night so that, primarily, we could put some quality time in Dick’s Sporting Goods. It turned out to be a bit of a mistake because a) we ended up buying nothing from Dick’s Sporting Goods and b) there really is very little to do here and, despite being on the shore of Champlain Lake (pronounced like Champagne but with an ‘L’) it’s not really very nice. In fact, as a guy told us in the 20 minute wait for a table in Applebees (yes, you read that right – a 20 minute wait for a chain restaurant) that northern New York’s biggest industry is correction facilities (that’s prison to you and me). Now I’m not claiming that all Northern New York towns are inhabited by crims but it does take a certain slightly twisted mind-set to buy a house next to a prison and the presence of such establishments does mess with the atmosphere somewhat.
Anyway, our day started, as per usual, by looking for a walk for Molly which took us into the centre of town where we strolled along the shoreline back-dropped by the water treatment facility and the occasional putrid blast of sewage cleansing steam. Not an ideal start to the day.
So then Americana began. First stop – The Mall. With the vague mission of getting Molly a sturdier bed for the car we hit Petsmart and Lowes which were both big enough to comfortably fit in Wales and Ireland. Walking round both of these shops probably totaled 20 miles which was more than enough to build up an appetite although, to be fair, eating a meal seems to be enough to build up an appetite at the moment – it must be the cold weather and nothing to do with being a pair of greedy oinkers. Being in the middle of a shopping plaza and not having driven meant we were at the mercy of the chain restaurants but I’m not moaning as I really wanted to try Applebees. I have to say that, despite a hideously big
starter, I had a really tasty salad (with fried chicken of course) and Kate seemed happy with hers so for $30 all-in I can understand why these places flourish. Now I just need to convince Kate that Aplebees or its ilk would make a good anniversary venue rather than the slightly pricier Ramsey establishments that she seems to gravitate towards on such occasions.Bowling was next on the Americana check-list a
nd we took on the US pseudonyms of Britney Spokes and Chad Bologne for the big game. We managed three games which Kate claimed victory in all of despite scoring about 60% of my score in each – I am still not entirely clear on the exact rules when playing sports with girls but I have noticed the recurring theme that I seem to lose even if I break an existing world record.The evening involved piling into town (this was a Saturday night after all and we are crazy young people) where an inspection of each of the pubs through their window resulted in Olive Ridley’s being chosen as officially the busiest pub in town. What we only realized after getting through the door was that the busyness was caused by a sorority party that specialized in screaming and microphone feedback. Still, it took a good few pints and some mock pub lottery (it would take too long to explain) before we moved venue and found another electronic dart board. I might have to throw out my snowboard and golf clubs to make room for one of these magical machines in the back of Bridget but it will be well worth it.
Off up to the Canadian border tomorrow to begin the drive west to Buffalo…
1 comment:
Beautiful kate. Love the blog love your hair, but sad you are no longer a genuine strawberry blonde, love you. As you know Jury still out on the editor-in-chief, but I found the sympathy he showed to Pearse after the spider incident strangly endearing...
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