Friday, 11th May to Sunday 13th May: The End.

Last day of our amazing adventure.

We were slowly up and at them from 9ish. HardKillah made us breakfast and assured us that all would be okay if we missed our flight.

We will never know how Maim and Cora have the same sized feet yet Maim wears skates 2 sizes smaller than Cora. Well, not for now.



Unfortunately, while there was a bit of a glitch at check-in, we were all set to go. The flight to L.A. was relatively event-free. We then had a 6-hr stopover at LAX. We killed some of that time on the airport shuttle. Then we had a couple of beers at the bar. We walked really slowly through the 3 shops in our terminal. And I'm pretty sure out of sheer boredom, I bought a new camera from a vending machine in the terminal.

Slowly, slowly the clock ticked over but eventually it was time to board and head back to the South Pacific. Sheer luck had us sitting in the middle section of the plane with 4 seats between the two of us. Before we had reached cruising altitude, it was radio silent between Maim and I as we looked to our consoles for enough entertainment to keep us awake until dinner. Once the dinner trays were cleared, it wasn't long before we had both passed out and slept through the next 6-8 hours.

We then had a brief stopover in Auckland before catching our final flight home to Melbourne. I left Maim at Duty Free, anticipating a giant queue at Immigration. Boy was I wrong. I sailed through in possibly the quickest time ever and ended up waiting at the luggage carousel for Maim. Turns out the quick and easy fancy Australian passport isn't so quick and easy! Once we had our bags, it was straight through customs and out the door where Brother Ford (one of) was waiting to collect us and take us home.

The end.

To our dear American friends, new and old, see you in September. *grin*

Thursday, 10th May: Winding down

Today, Cora introduced us to crack. Not really. She introduced us to Stumptown Cod Brew Stubbies. This coffee was so strong that soon after having half of it, I thought I was going to die. Then I got really, really tired. I had to abandon all efforts and give the rest of mine to Maim.

We headed to the Pikes Place Market where we stopped in at Piroshky-Piroshky for some delicious Russian baked goods. We then headed to Nordstroms on a mission to find some hipster shoes for me. In the end, we found hipster shoes for both Maim and I.

We then headed to Fremont to see Lenin and browse a gigantic thrift store.

Cora and I were really tired by then so we headed back home for some R&R. Maim and I had some packing to do while Cora had some napping to take care of. After all, they had practice again that night.

By this stage, you would think that we would be old hands at knowing what 50lbs feels like. We wouldn't really know until we got to the airport on Friday.

I tried to check us into our flight to L.A. but was experiencing all sorts of difficulty. Our itinerary had us on an American Airlines flight but the small print said operated by Alaska Airlines. When I tried to check-in through American Airlines, it wouldn't allow me to do so because we didn't have allocated seats. Troublesome. So then I rang the airline where I had a frustrating conversation with a robot. Then I called Alaska Airlines and spoke to the robot's cousin who confirmed my flight but then gave me an inaudible confirmation number. After all that, we decided to try our luck by checking in at the airport. We had a 6 hour window of opportunity to make it to L.A. in time for our flight home.

We went with the girls to the Rat's Nest and while they headed to practice, we headed to King's Hardware for dinner. We met up with the girls after practice, said goodbye to some, and then headed home before going to the Unicorn Bar for a couple of drinks.

While we hadn't yet come up with a handy mash-up name, it had become very apparent that HardKillah were our American equivalents. This was cemented by Cora and I both retiring early (I think it was about 1:30am) while KillahMaim stayed up watching YouTube videos.

Bless.

Wednesday, 9th May 2012: Washington State

Killah took the day off today to join us in a road trip out of town. Having taken a quick poll at practice, Cora determined that we would head to Deception Pass.

However, on the way to Deception Pass, we stopped by at Fast Girl Skates again, this time for some quick maintenance on Maim's skates. And then we were off. But wait. On the way to Deception Pass was an outlet mall and I had been bitten by a shopping bug. After a 30 minute pillage at Under Armour, we were underway again.

The drive to Deception Pass took us very close to the U.S. - Canadian border but there was no chance in hell that HardKillah were going to go through border crossing hell again. Not that Deception Pass is in Canada.

Crossing Deception Pass took us to Whidbey Island, where we drove through Oak Harbour, stopped briefly in Coupeville, and nearly froze our faces off at Fort Casey State Park. Then we drove to Clinton and caught the ferry to Mukilteo. I may have made all of that last bit up but that's where my Google navigational skills are telling me that we went.

It was then time to head back to town, grab some dinner and get ready for practice. Yes, if you're counting, this is the 4th day in a row of practice that I've mentioned. Tonight, the Rat City All Stars scrimmaged against the Puget Sound Outcasts. It was an extreme privilege to be allowed to watch the All Stars scrimmage as these are normally closed door sessions. Nevermind that VRDL are also in the West Region and we are now the competition. Good thing we had charmed our way into the captains' hearts. ;)

All jokes aside, we had been given the task of providing feedback to the Captains after scrimmage. Whoah. Talk about daunting. Provide feedback on one of the teams that you admire? No pressure! Eep.

After scrimmage we headed to the Ballard Den for a post scrimmage snack and de-brief.

Tuesday, 8th May 2012: Errr...?

I need to blog before my memory fails me.

We had a relatively late start to the day, moving at a relaxed pace and catching up e-mails and league business. I feel like I'm saying that a lot. Possibly because we knew the holiday was drawing to a close and it was nearly time to head home and face reality, whatwith the Great Southern Slam fast approaching in June and general league house-keeping.

Anyway.

Cora, Maima and I headed over to Fast Girl Skates and perused the shop. It's funny who you run into at skate shops. Also at Fast Girl that day were Quadzilla, a Gotham Girl and a New York Shock Exchanger.

I think we did some thrift shopping around Capitol Hill but who can say? I was now in my 5th week of not really knowing where we were. And just quietly, all the N, S, E and W did not help either. One of the quirkier shops that we found was a thrift shop - located above a home-made ice cream shop - that was also a computer repair shop.

We were also on a mission to find me some jeans. While there was plenty of opportunity for jeans shopping in New York, I just wasn't feeling it. I just didn't do very well with the shopping in New York. But a trip to Northgate Mall, The Sports Authority and Target and my shopping drought was broken.

We then headed back home to meet up with Killah and get ready for practice.

That evening we went to Rat City league scrimmage and watched HardKillah's home team, the Throttle Rockets, scrimmage against the Derby Liberation Front We then watched a bit of Grave Danger scrimmaging against the Sockit Wenches.

After practice we headed over to Hattie's Hat with Cora for some dinner and were joined by Primp, Peno and Method.

Just a quick note...

Maim and I are now back in Melbourne and back at work.


I will be updating the blog with our Seattle shenanigans and a log of our journey home. I will also be updating posts with some photos.

The aim is to have this done by the end of the week but we shall see...

In the meantime, here are pictures of cute dogs that we encountered on our trip:

Homeward bound... almost.

So we're due to leave Seattle in just under 24 hours, pending a slight check-in issue with American Airlines.

Here is a message from our Seattle hosts:

Greetings International readership!

Monday, May 7th: 9th inning fadeout

We spent today with Hard Cora. Monday started like Sunday with a search for breakfast. No dice.

We then headed somewhere and met up with Cora's mom and dog, Kaja. We spent a little time next to the lake, saw some cute teenage busker bands and then headed back to Capitol Hill for some thrift shopping.

We then headed back home to meet up with Killah who had scored tickets to the Mariners - Tigers baseball game for us to go to while they had practice. Neither Maim nor I have been to a baseball game before so we were very excited. We had hoped to see some professional sport of some variety while we were here and huzzah!

The girls dropped us off at the baseball. We drank beer, ate junk food and watched as the Tigers blew a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 9th inning and the Mariners won 3-2.

For some reason, I thought that baseball games went for hours and hours. This seemed like a short 2hrs and 41min (they announced it).

And it was back home for the evening. HardKillah came back from training super-energised but we were two tired tourists. Maim couldn't even stay up for freshly baked cookies.

Sunday, May 6th: Rat City

Sunday morning was spent looking for breakfast. I had put eggs on Maim's mind so we hauled ass looking for somewhere that would make Maim some eggs on toast. We found a whole lot of bakeries, french cafes, coffee joints but no plain eggs.

Eventually we found somewhere. And I found bloody mary complete with bacon. We then continued to wander the streets aimlessly until it was time to head over to Hard Cora and Killah Kelly's, who would be hosting us for the remainder of our stay in Seattle.

HardKillah, however, had been detained at the U.S. - Canada border for the 2nd time in 24 hours. Primp Daddy came to our rescue and took us to the Rat's Nest (I hope I didn't just make that up), RCRG's training space, where we watched the Throttle Rockets practice. There were quite a few familiar faces on the team - Wile Peyote, Sirius Mischief and Missile America. We also saw Method of Madness briefly when Grave Danger turned up for their practice.

Maim and I wondered where the photos of the RCRG All Stars were that we had 'made' for our bout against them in November 2011. Funnily enough, not up on their practice space walls.

After practice, we headed to a local pub with most of the team for a couple of drinks and some food. Then it was back to HardKillah's where we settled in for the evening. The girls had an All Stars captains' meeting with Jalapeno Business and Glitter while Maim and I tended to our own league duties and general housekeeping.

We then chatted with the girls over a nightcap and headed to bed.

Saturday, May 5th: Sunny Seattle

We last left you cruising at 37,000ft over continental U.S.A.

The flight from JFK to SEA was long, never mind having to sit on the plane for 2hrs before taking off. We had been 'upgraded' to an exit row but don't be fooled, people! While there's extra leg room, the seats do not recline. Maim not happy.

We landed at about 11:30pm and thanks to some forward planning, headed straight to our home for the next two nights, the Red Lion Hotel.

If you're ever in the Seattle area and staying downtown, we recommend the Red Lion. The bathroom was about the size of my room at The New Yorker.

Being on Eastern Standard time, we were both up quite early (by vacation standards). We headed down to the local famous market and then cruised around for the rest of the day.

We did a bit of shopping (I scored a trench coat; continued to fail dismally on buying jeans and sneakers), ate lunch at a local brewery, rode the monorail and headed up the Space Needle. We then headed to an Italian restaurant on 2nd to resolve our hankering for pasta and then retired for the evening.

Friday, May 4th: New York to Seattle

It was time for last ditch shopping before checking out of our hotel. Seeing as I was done mid-afternoon yesterday, I had one shop to go to, Muji, and they didn't open until 11.

So my morning got off to a leisurely start. Until I stupidly tried to buy sneakers at 11:34am when I needed to be out of the hotel at 12pm. And I saw the aftermath of a cyclist hit by a car on 34th. :(

Maim and I convened in the lobby at 12ish and headed out for some lunch. We then made our way to Macy's to steal WiFi and sort out some last minute accommodation in Seattle.

We then wandered the streets aimlessly until it was time to head to the airport. Maim reluctantly agreed to leaving at 3:30pm for a 6:30pm flight, which turned out to be a good thing seeing as it took an hour to get there and another hour to check in and clear security.

I managed to win The Weighting Game by shedding a further 8lbs from my checked bag. So far, it's gone from 48.5lbs (SF to ABQ) to 46lbs (AUS to NYC) to 38lbs. We'll just ignore the fact that I'm now carrying approx. 26lbs ON MY PERSON. Someone please make me an appointment with my myotherapist for Monday, May 13? Thanks.

We then had a quick beer and snack before boarding our plane... And being delayed for nearly 2hrs. While waiting ON the plane. Boring.

I am updating the blogs mid-air. Well, I'm writing them at least. They'll be posted the next time I have WiFi. Which should be in around 3hrs.

Thursday, May 3rd: A day apart.

Shopping is something that Maim does alone. I have been known to take wingwomen with me when I shop but we both had different missions and needed to work to our own clocks.

So I can really only tell you about my day. Here we go.

Generally speaking, I shop at the same places in Melbourne or I online shop. I find real time shopping intimidating, unless I have a posse or they know me by name. And I need to be in the mood to shop. I'm not sure if I was in the mood but I was going to give it a red hot go.

Perhaps then, knowing the above about myself, I shouldn't have selected 'Victoria's Secret' as my first point of call. Yet I did. And I promptly left. I had to go get my consumer confidence elsewhere first. So I went to UNIQLO. I discovered this shop when I was in Singapore in 2009. If you like layers and cotton basics, this is the shop for you. Unfortunately, there aren't many around except in SE Asia. Or this flagship store in New York. I do love a flagship store.

I then headed back to Victoria's Secret where my mission was successful. It took 6 women in addition to myself. Hm.

I headed downtown next to New York University. I've previously described how partial I am to university campuses so I won't go any further. But apparently this winter I will be wearing singlets. A lot of them. Possibly all at once. And hoodies.

And then to Fluevog. How novel it was to try on the shoes I like instead of looking at them online and trusting someone in Seattle or Toronto to size me correctly based on my previous Fluevog purchases! Having said that, I've always been sized correctly when shopping online. Anyway, two pairs of shoes later and a salesman who asked if I should be cut off, it was time to leave SoHo.

I think I have mastered finding public restrooms in NYC, by the way.

That was me and shopping done for the day. I was also a bit over the crowds of Manhattan. So I jumped on an L and made my way to Brooklyn to see the girls one last time before leaving NYC. I was very tempted to stay another couple of days to see the GGRD All Stars in action against Connecticut but alas, no. The Pacific Northwest beckons.

I headed back to the hotel via a very long, delayed train ride yet still got back before Maim had finished her shopping. Eventually Maim rang but she wasn't done yet and off she went again. I happily stayed in my room and re-organised my bags, a.k.a. The Weighting Game.

We had dinner together and then retired to our rooms.

Wednesday, May 2nd: Ladies of Leisure

It was time to check out of our apartment and head to Manhattan, where we would be spending the next two nights at The New Yorker Hotel, as Ladies of Leisure.

We hired a limo taxi to take us to Manhattan because negotiating the subway with our bags was not going to happen. While on the way to Manhattan - in a minivan, bless - the driver was on the phone with his insurer (I assume), giving a detailed account of an incident he'd had. Awkward.

We made it to the hotel three hours before check-in so we dropped off our bags and headed out for brunch. Hello diner food. We then walked 34th and perused through some shops, including Macy's, currently undergoing refurbishment and thoroughly confusing to navigate. Neither of us were in a buying mood so this adventure was more a scouting expedition.

Eventually it was time to check in and we both disappeared into our separate hotel rooms. We left our rooms once to forage for food and then returned to be hermits in private.

Tuesday, May 1st: Brooklyn

It was a rainy day in Brooklyn which sort of kiboshed our plans to go to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

Instead, we walked up and down Bedford Avenue, browsed some vintage shops and then headed back to Five Stride for some shopping. Maim tried on some new boots and replaced some protective gear while I bought merch. I need more hoodies.

All the running around was getting the better of us and we headed back to the apartment to rest and catch up on e-mails and mark forearms red. We'd both picked up colds in Austin and couldn't work out if we were getting a second cold or just taking a bit longer to recover so some R&R was in order.

We then met up with Bonnie and OMG for dinner after their practice and then they walked us home and we said our goodbyes. Aww.

Monday, April 30th: Mitty leaves, derby recommences (sort of)

It was time for a sleep in. It was also time to wash some clothes!

We met up with Mitty for lunch at a BBQ joint in Manhattan. This place was on his list of recommendations so it had to be done. Poor long-suffering vegetarian Maim. At least the waiter was kind enough to inform her not to expect anything flash from their salad because 'honest to God, all we have is lettuce and tomatoes'.

After lunch we headed over to the Highline and walked all the way down to Little Italy. No naked people were sighted at the Hotel Standard.

We then had a parting coffee with Mitty before walking back to Union Square to say our goodbyes and go our separate ways.

Maim and I headed back to Brooklyn and it was time to drop by Five Stride Skate Shop. As we were walking there, we joked that it probably wasn't open. And it wasn't. Ha. But Bonnie and OMG were there and let us in and we hung out for a bit.

Then it was back to the apartment so that Maim could get ready for training that night. We really lucked out with our apartment as we were about a mile from the GGRD crash pad and Five Stride.

The training session was led by Suzy Hotrod. We also met Fisticuffs. Hyperlynx was there too. Being a post-bout session, there weren't that many skaters there but Suzy ran an hour off- / hour on-skates session. She may think otherwise but Maim held up pretty well having been on holidays for 2 weeks.

After training, we headed out for drinks and vegan empanadas with Bonnie, joined later by OMG and Slaydie. Then it was off home.

Sunday. April 29th: Museums and parks

We had a slightly later (but still late) start on Sunday.

We started off at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. I can't tell you what the main exhibit was but I can tell you that there was also a Francesca Woodman photographic exhibition that I found completely captivating.

Today I had a knish. I wish I hadn't.

We stopped at the local food emporium (read: supermarket) and grabbed some picnic stuff to take to Central Park for lunch. We walked through and looked for the Great Lawn but couldn't find it. I don't know what it is about this Great Lawn but it has now escaped me THREE times in my life time.

Ok, now I'm just lying to you. We did find it eventually in 1994 after Pride March. And I may have found it in 2011 but everything was covered in snow so it could have been a lake. I didn't know Bethesda Fountain was (and still is) next to a lake in January 2011 but in April 2012, ta da!

Anyway, we found a grassy knoll to settle upon and watch a local Quidditch match. I kid you not. Adults running around with brooms between their legs, throwing balls through hoops. And then a random adult, wearing what looked like gold derby skinz, running onto the field. Obviously The Golden Snitch. I'm not sure what was more amusing: the game; the people doing off-broom training; or Mitty and I explaining the world of Harry Potter to Maim.

We then went to the American Museum of Natural History. There is a notable amount of history missing from this museum. I'm sure there's good reason but I'm pretty sure a couple of continents aren't covered. Bygones.

We then headed back to Central Park for ice cream and to watch some street performers. Then it was back to Brooklyn.

By this stage, there wasn't a lot of trust in each others' navigational skills. Mitty was able to use Google Maps to an extent but Maim was relying on bit maps (not bitmaps) and I was using whatever I had screen captured that morning and my ever-failing memory. Navigating had become a game. A frustrating game.

We headed to The Charleston on Bedford. Mitty had been given a hot tip about this bar that served free pizzas at happy hour. Make sure you get a ticket from the barmaid though or no slice! We then headed down the street to Vinnie's for pizza and back to the Charleston. I left Maim and Mitty at the bar and headed back to the apartment in an embarrassingly short cab ride.

Saturday, April 28th: Gotham

Today we started at Radio City Music Hall. Little did we know that we were there on Day 3 of the NFL Draft so there were hoards of people there including a lot of men in uniform (Hello sailor!).

We signed up for the Radio City Music Hall tour and were taken around by a very enthusiastic tour guide. So, have you seen that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer moves to L.A. To be an actor and there's an elderly Hollywood starlet who lives in his apartment building? That's who our tour guide reminded me of. There was another tour guide who reminded me of Eileen Brennan. I wish she'd been our tour guide.

During the tour, we were introduced to a Rockette named Rachel. To this day, we'll never be certain whether she really was/is a Rockette or some actress locked in a small room all day, let out every 5 minutes to deliver her soliloquy on what it's like to be a Rockette, then have photos taken. We did not have photos taken with her. Sorry Flat Pop.

Next stop: Rockerfeller Plaza and the Top of the Rock followed by the Terracotta Soldiers from China.

We then headed back to Brooklyn for some dinner followed by the Gotham Girls Roller Derby bout between the Manhattan Mayhem and Bronx Gridlock. For those of you who aren't derby nerds, Gotham Girls are the current WFTDA Champions. This is a big deal. Being at their bout was a big deal. Also, we got to catch up briefly with Bonnie Thunders and OMG WTF as well as see Bonnie manage her team (Bronx Gridlock) for the first time. The bout was a nail-biter and in the end, Manhattan Mayhem were victorious.

The three of us headed back to Williamsburg for a couple of quiet ales before calling it a night. Being a tourist is exhausting.

Friday, April 27th: Day 1 Queues for queues.

Up and at them!

The plan was to meet Mitty at St. Paul's Chapel at 10am and head to the 9/11 Memorial. We were slightly late and then after a slight clusterfuck of having to walk back and forth between the memorial and where we should have collected our tickets, we were on our way. Sort of.

Our tickets were for the 11:30 entry but there is (understandably) so much security around the site that it took some time to get into the memorial. I 'entertained' my travelling companions with some facts about the site and the construction of the new tower, including its specialist facade system.

We then headed down to Battery Park to catch the Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island Ferry. More queues. More security checkpoints. Oye vay.

Once back in Manhattan, we discussed whether seeing the 'Bodies Exposed' exhibition would be better before or after lunch. Lunch prevailed.

Then we went to the 'Bodies Exposed' exhibition. I bet you saw that coming. Unfortunately we arrived at the same time as a school tour so it was a little frustrating having to endure teenage banter about naked bodies but fortunately, they moved through quite quickly.

I think we headed back to Brooklyn after this. We planned our evening of local bar hopping, starting first with Dumont Burgers and Beers. We also covered a German beer hall, the Spuytin Devil (or something like that), Barcade and there may have been others.

So by this stage of our trip, I'm seriously re-evaluating whether or not I actually like beer.

Thursday, April 26th: Brooklyn and then some

It was our first full day in New York City. Mitty met us at the apartment and we started mapping out our day. Maim needed new walking shoes and Mitty a charger for his camera. And we all needed coffee.

Sidebar: Events described in the following blogs may not be in chronological order.

I think we tried to find Mitty's 'camera shop' first. Instead we found a fairly industrial looking building with intercom buzzer access only. Mitty pressed the buzzer and was let in. Maim and I waited outside but made a pact to go in if he didn't come out in 5 minutes. Mitty eventually re-surfaced with directions to an actual camera shop, one that was around the corner from our apartment. I don't think we'll ever know what the first place was/is.

We headed to Metropolitan Avenue and stopped at Momofuku Milk for coffee (Americano with room for milk, please). This was also where I learned a valuable lesson on making sure the lid of the cash dispensing section of the ATM is closed or else your cash is sent shooting out all over the street.

We then headed in some direction where we ended up at the East River State Park, scene of 'the most controversial photo from 9/11'.

The 'shoe store' was no where to be found but we did find the Brooklyn Brewery and some hipster vintage clothing store. We didn't go to either.

We then decided to brave the subway and headed in to Manhattan. We quickly worked out the Metrocard system and off we were to Union Square. Once in Manhattan, we were able to complete our two tasks - Maim's new walking shoes and Mitty's camera charger. Keep up. Mitty even managed to convince Eli at the camera shop to recharge his battery for him while we had lunch.

Then it was off to Times Square to collect a New York Pass for Mitty. By then it had started to rain and we need beer so it was off to check out the so-called trifecta of dive bars. First stop, a sports bar at Times Square. Then we found another bar where we offended a local. Then we accidentally stumbled upon Magnum PI's tittie bar. Then another bar. Then we decided to find New York's version of honkytonk and headed to Rodeo's, where they let you shell peanuts onto the floor and serve beer in red cups.

I'm sure at some point in time we had dinner, I just don't remember where or what. Then we headed to the Bowery and had a beer next to the Bowery Ballroom. It was then time to head home via the Williamsburg Bridge and Maim's excellent navigating skills.

Can't blog. Sleeping.