Work and HOLIDAY!

21st August 09, Friday – Friday was really slow and we were quite bored and we had 2 breaks near each other but by dinner time it got busy and we didn’t have any dinner breaks. We were supposed to work till 11 as all the concessionaires have to. So we cleaned up and packed up everything before 10 as the weather looks really bad and we were just waiting to see if we can get permission to pack up early. We are collecting quarters now as the quarters have the different states engraved on it and we wanted to collect every single one of it. Today Chariene and I also took quite some photos as we were bored and there isn’t much chance left for us to work in the pizza stand.

22nd August 09, Saturday – Started early since Earl and Becky only arrived late last night and they will start late today. It looked as if it was going to rain very heavily this morning but there was still quite a big crowd and business was quite steady at the pizza stand. When they came I got an hour break. It was very cold today and most of us wore the Charlie’s sweater to work except for JR. I went to the grab joint to work and it got quite busy even though it started to rain. Had to go back to the pizza stand to give Earl and Becky a break and customers kept coming and before I know it, it is time for me to go back to the grab joint. During my dinner break I stepped on a nail which pierced right through my slippers and into my feet. It was painful and thankfully it wasn’t very bad. Used an alcohol swab and some antiseptic cream on it before putting on a plaster to prevent infection. Charlie fell down and scrapped his knee again and he bled quite a bit. After my break, made some corn dogs and fries before cleaning up and we ended earlier today since we ended late last night. We went to do our laundry and then packed some of our stuff for our DC trip.

23rd August 09, Sunday – Finally the last day of the fair, I got to start late today since on average I’ve been staring earlier than JR and Jonathan. Woke up later than usual, first time I’m the last to start work so everyone already left the truck when I got up. Packed the room a bit just in case Doug have to move the truck today and then went to get the documents for the hotel and train reservation printed. Work was busy today and I spent most of the time in the grab joint. It got a bit crazy a few times when all the customers just come at the same time with big orders. Went to the DNR building for the first time at the fair on the very last day where they had some interesting exhibits. During my dinner break I ate a lot since we won’t have any more free food after today, I had an Italian sausage, a hotdog, an order of fries, a corndog and a 32oz Dr pepper. After that we started cleaning up the stands and packed up everything for tomorrow when they are going to move out back to Wisconsin. Burned my hand today because Doug paced the fries fryer on top of the fridge and then I touched the fridge. Only the time boiling water scalded my feet was more painful than this. The burning sensation lasted the whole night. By the time everything was packed it was already 1230. Doug offered to bring us to the airport the next morning. Hopefully everything will go well for the trip. Tomorrow, Washington DC!

24th August 09, Monday – We woke up at around 5am today and Doug drove us to the airport. It was really cold at around 57 degree Fahrenheit which is about 13 plus degree Celsius. The Indianapolis International airport looked really new and after checking in we boarded the plane soon after and our first stop would be Atlanta, Georgia before we transfer flight to Baltimore. The first flight took about an hour or so. When we arrived at Baltimore we took a shuttle bus to the train station where it cost us 6 bucks each to take a train to the union station at Washington DC. After reaching the union station we rented a car for our trip to Niagara Falls and took a public bus to Capitol Hilton where we will be staying for the next 3 nights. The room we got was huge and it could fit another 4 person and the location was good, just 2 blocks away from the White House. So after some planning we went out to have our meal at Subway. Then we went to the White House, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial. By the time we were done we are very tired since we didn’t get to sleep much the previous night and we went back to the hotel and planned for the next day. Washington DC downtown is actually quite a nice place and the public transport system is good so it is quite easy to get around the area.

25th August 09, Tuesday – this morning we woke up around 8 something so that we would have more time to spend during the day and the museums that we want to go today are the natural history museum and the holocaust memorial museum. We went to have our breakfast at a foodcourt in the Ronald Reagan building where everything was quite expensive so in the end Jr and I didn’t eat anything over there. The natural history museum was really cool and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit there. There were many exhibits and many of them were really spectacular, we had to speed through certain parts of the museum because there was just too many things to see and read, after that we went to the holocaust memorial museum which was another very informative museum and allows us to have a better understanding of what really happened during the holocaust. Once again we do not have enough time because it closes at 530pm, I wished I had a few more hours there as there were just too many things to see and read. Once we were done, we went to the Smithsonian ‘castle’, I quite like the building, took some photos and then to the air and space travel museum because we still have a little bit more time before the museum closes. It wasn’t as interesting as the previous 2 museums and we were tired by then. At night we had dinner at subway and supper at Macs before going back to the hotel and planned for our shopping trip to Leesburg premium outlets and asked the Taiwan girls whether they wanted to join us or not. They just arrived today and are staying in the double tree hotel which is about 2 streets away from us.

26th August 09, Wednesday – this morning we woke up early and called concierge to help us ask for the price of hiring a van to bring us to the Leesburg Premium outlets and it cost 300 USD to bring us there and back. So we called the Taiwan girls who were staying in the double tree hotel just a few streets away from us and they joined us for the shopping trip. On the way there we just catch up and when we reached the premium outlets we planned how we were going to move around the place and then we set off on our shopping spree. Bought stuff from Adidas, UnderArmour, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Aeropostale, Puma and Levi’s. there were many shops that we went to as well but just didn’t buy anything. Maybe because we didn’t have money or just not enough time even though we shopped from 1130 to 2100. Went shopping with JR and we spent quite a bit today. I think we would most likely be going to another premium outlet for our next trip. At night Michelle, Sana and Wen came to our hotel and just spend some time with us before deciding tomorrow we would go to the spy museum together. Packed my things for tomorrow since we would be checking out and we will be driving up to Niagara Falls tomorrow night. Hopefully we won’t have any trouble finding it.

27th August 09, Thursday – today we woke up a little bit later, packed up all our stuff as we were going to check out today. After packing all our stuff we walked to the Double Tree hotel where we placed all of our luggage at so that at night before we leave we can still wash up and use the toilet before setting off for Niagara Falls. After placing our stuff, Jon and Chariene went off on their own as Chariene didn’t want to go to the spy museum and Jon had to change the Kenneth Cole bag he bought yesterday as the strap was giving way. Before reaching the spy museum we walked past Chinatown and stop at AT&T as Monica had to top up her prepaid card. When we finally reached the museum we had to pay 18 USD to get in, it was quite informative and they tried to make their exhibits more interactive so it was quite interesting. After we finished our tour of the spy museum, we went for lunch at legal seafood where we had their crabcakes which was good even though the serving is small. The mashed potato and clam chowder was not bad as well, it was a little pricey but I think it was worth the money. After lunch, the Taiwan girls went to union station so Monica, JR and I went to the art and portraiture museum as it was another one of Smithsonian museum so admission is free. They have really beautiful paintings in this museum and I enjoyed it very much and I once again find that there isn’t enough time to walk and see everything in the museum. At night, Jon, Chariene and I went to get the car we booked on Monday, we got a red Chevrolet Impala, it wasn’t too bad and there was quite a large boot so we don’t have any problem fitting all of our luggage in. We didn’t know how to use the GPS in the beginning so we had a little problem finding the double tree hotel from Union Station. It took us some time getting used to it and once we got it, we were on our way to Niagara Falls. Our route would be to Pittsburg, Erie, Buffalo and then to Niagara Falls.

28th August 09, Friday – our road trip to Niagara Falls would be quite a happening one as Jon got pulled over because he was speeding and he didn’t keep to his lane and it started to rain really heavily and we couldn’t see what was in front of us. After some close shave here and there, Jon told me he couldn’t take it anymore so before reaching Pittsburg, I took over driving and drove up to Erie from about 130 to 6. It was the most tiring drive and it was the first time I felt as though I am sleeping while I am driving. It rained every now and then and it made it even more difficult for me to drive. After reaching Erie, it was Chariene’s turn to drive and we reached Niagara Falss at around 10 plus in the morning. After arriving at the Falls, we went to the Terrapin point first where we saw the Horseshoe Falls which was really beautiful and magnificent. I have never seen anything like that and the photos that I saw of the Falls is nothing compared to seeing it there. We went to the 3 sisters island afterwards where we took some photos of the rapids. Next was Luna island where we can see the Bridal Veil Falls. It wasn’t as breathtaking as the Horseshoe falls but it was still nice. We wanted to have red lobster for lunch but the nearest was in Canada, the GPS nearly brought us to Canada. After that, the next closest one, according to the GPS, is about 7 km away but took us about 30 min to get there, and when we reached the place, it was the Niagara Falls Fashion outlet. We ended up eating our lunch at the food court of the fashion outlet. After lunch, we went back to the Falls to the other side where the maid of the mist tour would start. The boat ride took us right into the Horseshoe Falls where it was really cool to be ‘surrounded’ by the falls. If not for the poncho, we would have been soaked. More photo taking after that and we went back to the car because it was getting really cold. Wanted to go for the cave of the winds tour, but only JR and I went since the rest didn’t want to. The tour brought us right in front of the Bridal Veils fall and for the first time we felt the power of the falls. It was really fun and we got quite wet as a result. When we were all done, we waited for the sun to set as there would be lights illuminating the falls from 830 onwards. It wasn’t as good as expected, so we left a little bit earlier than planned. We were supposed to drive to the Amtrak station than to the airport but the GPS is making things difficult for us once again and it took a while before we got it set and drove to the airport instead and returned the car. We had to take a cab to the Amtrak station as it was too far from the airport. Once we are there we got our tickets printed and then we waited for our train to bring us to our next destination, Chicago. The train is so much better than the Greyhound and so we slept through most of the train ride to Chicago.

29th August 09, Saturday – Chicago, Illinois. When we arrived at the station we got our luggage and then we proceeded to our hotel, Club Quarters. This one wasn’t as good as it was a 3.5 star hotel, the room is much smaller and a first we only got a double bed but managed to get an extra bed. After washing up and planning a bit of what to do, we went down and had Macs for lunch and then we went to Grant park where the Buckingham Fountain was. It is a huge fountain but after seeing the Niagara Falls, the fountain is nothing. Then we went outside of the natural history museum, the aquarium and planetarium which were all located just beside the Lake Michigan which looked more like a sea, but just don’t have the seawater smell. The view was beautiful and we took some photos there, there were 3 wedding couples taking their wedding photos there as well. After that we went to the Millenium Park which has got an interesting sculpture which reflects quite well so there were quite a lot of people there taking photos. After Millenium Park we were supposed to go to Red lobster to have our dinner but we couldn’t find it and after asking, we realized that the nearest one was just too far and so we decided to go to navy pier to have our dinner instead. After dinner we walked along the pier and saw a magic show and then the stained glass museum and then the fireworks display which just isn’t as nice as before because this is at leas the 4th time we’ve seen fireworks in the US, it was a long walk back to the hotel and we had Macs for supper and e got 2 free apple pie.

30th August 09, Sunday – Woke up early today to pack my things as I would be going over to Angela’s place during the later part of the day. we started off the day with breakfast at Macs and some dunkin donuts which JR and I shared. After that we took the bus, which cost 2.25 USD, to get to the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is free. The zoo was quite nice for one which we do not have to pay for admission. Although most of the animals seemed quite lethargic maybe due to the cold weather. I was quite disappointed that the polar bear was temporarily off display at the time we were at the zoo so I didn’t get to see it. After the trip to the zoo we went to the Magnificent Mile, which is a stretch of road something like Orchard Road back in Singapore. I stayed with them for our cheesecake factory meal, it was fantastic but I had to rush to finish my oreo chocolate mudslide cheesecake because I have a train to catch. I bought a 6-inch strawberry cheesecake for Angela and her family as well and rush to the train station only to see it leave when I got onto the platform. The next train was 2 hours later and I spent about an hour sorting out some of my photos that were taken during our trip to Washington DC and Niagara Falls. So I reached Wheaton at around 730 where I was greeted by Angela. She drove me to her place and I got to meet Clayton, her husband, and her 3 sons, Judah, Nathan and Jordan. Angela cooked dinner for me and it was nice to have home cooked food after such a long time. We spent the night talking and catching up, getting to know each other better while the boys had to go to bed early. It was wonderful how things worked out the way it did, them moving to Wheaton and me coming to the Midwest so that we were able to meet up. After eating the cheesecake and drinking the hot caramel with milk, Angela and Clayton went to bed while I used the internet for a while more before turning in for the night.

31st August 09, Monday – woke up at 715am today as I had to take the 830am train which goes back to Chicago. I was greeted by Judah as I was going up the stairs and I had orange juice and cereal for breakfast. Talked to the boys a little more before Angela brought me to the train station and I went back to Chicago, to the Club Quarters hotel where it was really crowded because the Taiwan girls were already there. We packed our things and went to the Union station. In the end we had to buy Greyhound tickets because the initial bus we wanted to take, the tickets could only be purchased online. So we decided to give Greyhound another chance after our bad experience with it from New York to Madison. The bus would leave only at 330pm so we had about 4 hours to spare and we went to a supermarket to eat. Their things were mostly organic and so were not cheap. I shared a whole chicken with JR, while Jon ate 菜饭and Chariene ate Japanese food. After that we went back to the Greyhound station to wait for our bus. The bus ride was much better this time. Jonathan left his Kenneth Cole bag in the hotel room and luckily, the Taiwan girls were there to get their luggage so they managed to get the bag. Chris was at the Milwaukee Greyhound station to pick us up and he drove us to the Elkhorn fairgrounds, Walworth County Fair. After cleaning up our room a little bit, we met the Taiwan girls and Jay and went to Subway/Burger King for dinner. After that we met Drazen and Vladon as well, it looks like this is going to be quite a big fair as there were so many stands and people working here. The Asians talked at the bench outside of Doug’s trailer for a while before we went to use the internet outide of th fairgrounds office.