The Great Mall of America

Why Pay $29.95 ?, originally uploaded by mickzilla.

We did the biggest mall in Canada (and North America) on the early start of our tour, so it only seemed right to stop in to the biggest mall in America. By comparison, it's like less than half the land mass - but it does has 4 floors (West Edmonton Mall only had 2) - so that makes it pretty comparable. The really cool thing is that the Amusement park is right in the middle - and Keona ravaged that all day today. I hit a couple of the roller coasters, which where surprisingly awesome even though they where named after Nickelodeon characters.

After the mall, the drive led us to Bismarck, North Dakota and right through Fargo. On the highway all through Fargo, I couldn't help keeping my eyes glued to the side of the road, looking for the little flag that Steve Buscemi left to indicate where the money was buried. I'm sure it's been found by now.

T,T & WT

Take the Skyway!, originally uploaded by mickzilla.

Toll Booths, Turnpikes, and Water Towers... that's a summary of our trip across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and into Minnesota. I had to look up Turnpike in Wikipedia - it's just another name for a toll road :)

We drove all day in order to save a day and spend it at the Mall of America, which we'll adventure tomorrow. I kept my normal pace of about 140km/h and wouldn't you know it, a Wisconsin State Trooper didn't really like that....

It was pretty classic, i noticed him at the side of the road just about the same time he noticed me. He pulled out from the bush he was hiding in quite quick, in what looked like he was getting ready for a hot action high speed chase. I instead hit the brakes, and dropped from 140km/h to about 90km/h just as quick - so there he was, a fair distance in front of me, looking as if he was not really sure of what to do next.

I continued to craw at 90, and eventually he had to hit his brakes hard in order for me to catch up so he could pull in behind me. Which he did. I guess he ran my plates, cause the cherry's didn't go on for about a minute or so - but when the did, i put on my right turn signal, and drove for a bit - looking for the perfect place to pull over. Which I found about a mile down.

When the State Trooper got the car, he was very nice and I realized Wisconsin accents sound very Canadian (or at least his did)..

He said, "All the way from British Columbia, eh? Where ya heading?".
I responded with, "The Great Mall of America, sir!".
"Oh, great - have you ever been there before?"
"Nope first time!"
"I pulled you over cause of the speed, you know that right?"
"ummm... ya"
"How fast where you going?"
"Oh, about 110 Kilometers per hour"
"What's that in miles?"

I then squinted at the odometer, after a short pause, looked up and responded with, "Umm, 70?"

He quickly said - "It was a lot faster than that", and left with my license and registration.

After about 5 minutes of Ma and I trying to calculate out how much it would be, (As we had seen signs just before in Illinois where it said speeding "Min. Fine $375" - but that was road work zones) he came back and said, "At the speed you where going, the State of Wisconsin fine would be $300...... but I'm not going to ruin your weekend - and I'll give you a warning!"

"Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you!"
"But slow it down - set the cruise control, or you'll have Winsonsin state troopers all over you for the rest of your drive."
"Okay Sir!"

But little did he know, there is no cruise in the Fit - just when my foot falls sleep on the petal - and that's what started this whole ordeal to begin with.

Cleveland, OH

I'm useless with the self timer., originally uploaded by mickzilla.

We made it to Cleveland thanks to the stupendous driving by me Ma. She handled all of Pennsylvania by herself - in some parts in torrential downpours. Thanks MOM! We're sure glad your here for this part!

Cleveland is a cool looking city - and we got a view of Lake Erie from the hotel, and saw a pretty cool sunset over it. We're also right beside Browns Stadium.

I saw an Cleveland Indian's game here about 18 years ago, can't remember if much has changed.

Welcome to Times Square

Welcome to Times Square, originally uploaded by mickzilla.

The Super 8 carpet blob didn't get me - but I was sure glad to get out of that stinky place.

Kelly came through as always - and helped me find something a lot better for our New York visit - There's this travel booking website (name withheld until they send my check) that lists the general location, star-rating, and price of a hotel - but it doesn't say what the hotel is, until your non-refundable booking is complete. That's how they can do it super-cheap. I guess it's a form of gambling, so I won't do it on the sabbath but none the less, it got us a 4 star Hotel in Newark for $94 (10 minutes from Time Square by public transit) and for tomorrow, i got a 3 star right on the waterfront downtown Cleveland for $49. I guess I'm 2 for 2.

We crossed 3 states yesterday (Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts) - and 3 more today (Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey). When we hit New York - I assume right around rush-hour time, as there was about 2 millions cars moving very quickly, all around me. I'm a very confident driver, but New York City driving is inhuman... After a few near death experiences, and accidentally running through a toll booth without paying, we made it into New Jersey, which felt more like the opening scene from the Soprano's.

We were professional tourists in Manhattan today. Especially on top of the Empire State Building. It was the tallest in the world from 1931-1972, and then in 1973, Toronto built the CN Tower. Go Canada!

What Boston Looked Like

What Boston Looked Like, originally uploaded by mickzilla.

And so it begins - The trek home, and we're in the US of A!

Me Ma has joined us for the ride - and she's off to a great start by getting us a Super 8 Motel Room for only $8.88! You see, she was 1 of 800 people globally to book a Super 8 room at 8pm yesterday, therefore winning the their "Too Good To Be True 888" promotion.

So after a grueling 13hr drive - we made it from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to the Super 8 in Brockton, Massachusetts - which is about 25 minutes outside of Boston, but took us almost 1.5 hrs more to get to because lovely Boston evening roadwork. The picture above is pretty much exactly how I saw Boston once i got there, it's not unfocused, i am.

Speaking of pictures - i got all the family wedding shots up on flickr (as well as many more here). Good Times.

The Super 8 room is what's to be expected for $8.88, but there is free Wireless Internet - so no complaints from me. I am a little concerned of this strange liquid that seems to be in the carpets - it doesn't smell friendly, and after i stepped in it in my socks - they seemed to have started some sort of chemical reaction. I've retreated to the center of my bed, and hope the liquid doesn't jump up and get me after i fall asleep. If this is the last post, you know why.

Just the Hali-facts!

My apologies for the lack of posts over the last few days. We made it to Halifax and the many events in Dartmouth. There was Wedding's on the water, unlimited food and family, excessive good times by all... Yet no wireless Internet, hence no posts. Halifax is our final Canadian destination, and tomorrow we'll be heading back west, starting in the great state of Maine! (America's only monosyllabic state!)

I'm sure their will be plenty of Wireless in the birthplace of Stephen King, and when I find it, I'll get some of these incredible pictures up!

Until then, congratulations once again, Cousin Mr & Mrs. Daddy Thornton. Keep it real!