travel – Page 12 – Travelling Worm

Tag: travel

Route 66, Arizona, USA

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark and can proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Yesterday me and the TC rode part of the historic Route 66 in Arizona, USA. En route from Flagstaff to Las Vegas, we took exit 121 from Interstate 40 and followed Route 66 all the way to Kingman.

My impressions? Tumble weed, tricycles, wide open skies.

The book I’m in

Rules of Vengeance, by Christopher Reich. I haven’t moved much (in the book, that is) since yesterday. Too busy keeping the TC company on her travels.

Travel tip

Take the time to visit the bits of nostalgia positioned along the road for your enjoyment.

The photos

Me on Route 66:

Our vehicle of choice is a Mustang convertible. A fitting ride for this route. Here it is, with a train passing behind:

“Kickin it on 66 at Mikes outpost saloon”:

Sharing the road with tricycles:

A back yard with a view:

Me enjoying the ride:

See y’all later!

That’s all for today, dudes.
Grand Canyon, cactus, and Arizona skies

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark and can proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC are spending a few days in Arizona, USA. We started in the capital, Phoenix, then drove to the Grand Canyon via Sedona and Flagstaff. The roads are good, the views are grand. Names like “Dead Horse Ranch Road” and “Bloody Basin Road” reminded us that travel wasn’t always as easy as it is now.

My impressions? Open skies, friendly people.

The book I’m in

Rules of Vengeance, by Christopher Reich. Fast action, intrigue, suspense.

Recommended accommodation

Little America Hotel, Flagstaff. Space and comfort.

Recommended restaurant

Diablo Burger in Flagstaff. Good food, friendly service, and a relaxed atmosphere.

Travel tip

Pack layers of clothing for travel in Arizona. The temperature in Phoenix was 40° Centrigrade (over 100° F). In Flagstaff, just two hours’ drive away, it was 18° C (64° F) and dropped to 9° C (48° F) at night.

The photos

Me at the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA:

This worm does confess to a bit of nervousness when my Travelling Companion, the redoubtable TC, propped me in position for the above shot. There was a bit of a drop behind me. The wind was a trifle gusty, and I not so gutsy.

This storm cloud moved in a few minutes later:

Two more intrepid souls:

Is it possible that this streamlet dug the mighty canyon?

This little lady was squirreling around the edges of the canyon, storing food for the babes in her tum:

Arizona skies:

Drifting rain:

Delicate cactus hues:

All shapes and sizes:

A tiny ground squirrel living under a cactus:

When positioning me in this pose, the TC discovered that prickly pears are aptly named:

That’s all for today, dudes.
Bay Bridge in the wet

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark and can proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

The TC, bless her cotton socks, paid a flying visit to San Francisco yesterday. It was a trifle wet. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge faded poetically into the drizzle.

Jonathan was there too, of course. Here he is, coming in to land with his usual flair:

Even a seagull looks bedraggled in the wet:
Google in Mountain View, CA

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark and can proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC are in Mountain View, visiting the main Google campus (often called the Googleplex) and Silicon Valley.

My impressions? Shiny happy people having fun, and working hard.

The book I’m in

Outer Bounds: Fortune’s Rising, by Sara King. This is an excellent book, with varied characters and an intriguing fantasy world. Take it with you on your travels and read it when you want a comfort zone to snuggle into. It’s full of action, goodies, and baddies.

(To be precise, I’m not exactly in this book, because the TC has decided to read it on her Kindle. I’m a real-life, three-dimensional creature, so I don’t fit into an ebook. Nevertheless, occupying a unique place in the TC’s consciousness as I do, I can inform you reliably that this is a book not to be missed.)

Recommended food store

Ava’s Downtown Market & Deli, 340 Castro Street, Mountain View, California.

Recommended chocolate tasting

The Chocolate Garage, 654 Gilman St. Suite G(arage), Palo Alto, California.

Travel tip

It’s useful to have a car when visiting Silicon Valley. The towns are wide spread, and there’s plenty to see.

The photos

Me on a Google bike, on site at Google, Mountain View:

The bikes are dotted around the Google campus. You can tell them by their colours. Googlers pick them up and drop them off on their way from office to office. It takes half an hour to walk from one end of the campus to the other, so the bikes offer an efficient and healthy alternative.

The Google Android building:

You’ll find an appetising array of cupcakes and cookies next to the Android statues:

The TC spends much of her time in the training building, which lies behind this restful pond. Note the blue hammocks under the white umbrella, awaiting weary Nooglers as they emerge from the orientation classes:

Stan the dinosaur, a T-rex that inhabits the Google grounds:

Downtown Mountain View is pretty, well kept, and well supplied with restaurants:

Another shot of Castro Street, Mountain View:

The Mountain View City Hall is rather magnificent:

If you’d like the TC’s perspective on the life and chocolate at Google, try her post: Report from a new Google technical writer.

That’s all for today, dudes.
University of Queensland in Brisbane

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark and can proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC popped over to Brisbane last week, to check out the two main campuses of the University of Queensland (UQ). My previous post includes moody shots of Ipswich and some fish in a library. Now for the lowdown on the big smoke itself.

My impressions? A university with character, in a city of character, owned by a river full of attitude.

The book I’m in

The Intercept, by Dick Wolf. Fast, believable action.

Recommended accommodation

Manor Apartment Hotel, 289 Queen Street, Brisbane. It’s in the centre of the city. The service is friendly, the rooms are roomy, and the breakfast is excellent.

Travel tip

Take a ferry trip down the river. It’s not always the fastest way of getting from A to B, but it’s a great way of seeing the city and relaxing at the same time. The ferry ride from the Eagle Street Pier to the UQ campus (St Lucia) takes about half an hour.

The photos

Me on a map of Brisbane, on a podium, on the top of Mount Coot-Tha:

The dark squiggly line running across the map is the river.

A view of the city of Brisbane, from the viewing site on Mount Coot-Tha:

The St Lucia campus is further inland by a couple of bends of the river. In this picture, you can see the wall of the great court that lies in the centre of the UQ’s St Lucia campus. It’s to the right of the patch of river, in front of the four poles rising up from the bridge:

St Stephen’s cathedral, Brissie:

“Brissie”, pronounced “Brizzy”, is the locals’ rather irreverent name for their city.

We took the ferry from the CBD to the university’s St Lucia campus. Here’s the striking Kurilpa Bridge, seen from the ferry:

Before depositing you on shores academical, this worm would like to take you on a diversion semiotical. Take a look at the sign below, which this worm spotted on a lavatory door at the end of a queue of women:

The women in the queue ignored this door. Instead, with great patience and forbearance, they were waiting in line for a single toilet, which had a sign containing just three pictures: the figure of a woman, a wheelchair, and a baby-changing platform. The patient queue assumed the first toilet (shown above) was for disabled people only, and the second was for everyone. The TC, bless her cotton socks, piped up that she was sure it was OK to use the disabled toilet. Imagine her delighted surprise, and that of everyone else in the queue, to discover six vacant toilets behind the above door, all ready and waiting for “ambulant” people’s use.

So, this worm muses, past experience has conditioned us to expect a special toilet for disabled people and to assume the difficult word “ambulant” is yet another term for “disabled”. And we don’t read.

Here’s another diversion. This worm as vastly amused to see the following sign in the hotel lobby. Shades of Sweeney Todd?

A closer look:

Moving on from dark humour to the light of academia, this is the outside wall of the magnificent great court at UQ’s St Lucia campus:

Inside is spacious and restful:

The detail on the walls:

One of the grotesques, rather gentler than many of that ilk:

That’s all for today, dudes.
University of Queensland in Ipswich

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark and can proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC hopped up to Brisbane and Ipswich last week, to visit the two main campuses of the University of Queensland (UQ). Our first stop was Ipswich, about 40 kilometres to the west of Brisbane. The UQ Ipswich campus caters for students in the medical and health sciences, as well as arts and education.

My impressions? There’s more to Ipswich than you might think.

The book I’m in

A Nameless Witch, by A. Lee Martinez. This is a truly delightful book, especially for those of us who like a good dose of fun with our fantasy. The hapless hero of the book, a witch without name, suffers temptations both carnal and carnivorous, and manages to conquer an evil sorcerer to boot.

Recommended restaurants

Urban Pantry, 181 Brisbane Street, Ipswich. A great place for coffee, cakes, pastries, and lunch. The welcome is friendly, the food good. Photo below.

Travel tip

Look out for cane toads. Disappointingly, this worm spotted nary a one, but I’m reliably informed the city of Ipswich is hopping with them.

The photos

There’s no photograph of me, your intrepid Travelling Worm, in this post! I do assure you I was there, but I managed to dodge the TC’s camera for a few hours. Rest assured, there’s the obligatory homage to me in my next post, snapped when we were making our way to Brisbane. For now, please enjoy these images of Ipswich.

We climbed to the top of the water tower on Denmark Hill, to get a view of the city of Ipswich. This is the tower, with the staircase leading up to the top:

A view of sky and layered hills, from the top of the tower:

The Old Flour Mill in Ipswich is currently undergoing renovation. A few shops and restaurants have already opened their doors inside this attractive building:

Another interesting edifice on Brisbane Street, Ipswich:

Goleby’s building in Brisbane Street:

Another aspect of the same building:

More of Brisbane Street, including the Urban Pantry – an excellent lunch venue. It’s to the left of the middle of the photo, on the ground floor, with a light brown facade:

We strolled around the Ipswich campus of the University of Queensland. It’s nicely laid out, with plenty of space and pleasing spaces. This is a view of a main thoroughfare, taken from inside the medical school:

The library is gorgeous. This bookworm was sorely tempted to take up permanent residence:

A river runs through it. Yes, through the library. With fish:

Join me in my next post for a look at the big smoke, Brisbane, and the UQ campus there.

That’s all for today, dudes.
Honey Island swamp tour in New Orleans

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark and can proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC spent a couple of days in New Orleans this week. One morning we braved the thunder storms and the warnings of flash flooding, to go on the Honey Island Swamp Tour with Cajun Encounters.

My impressions? Trees, trees’ knees, reflections of trees, and hidden danger.

The book I’m in

Wool, by Hugh Howey.

Travel tip

In my last post, I recommended that you watch out for people who don’t blink, as they may not be what they seem. Now this worm can inform you that alligators do blink, so you can trust that they are what they seem.

The photos

Me, your intrepid travelling worm, about to set out on the swamp tour:

At the start of the tour we were on a wide river with swampy banks on each side:

This vertical-lift bridge is in working order. The entire bridge, including the house in the middle, rises up the towers to let higher craft pass underneath. Our boat captain said you need to call about four hours beforehand if you want the bridge to lift:

Water lilies on the river bank:

Witch’s hair lichen drapes the trees:

Are those all lily pads amongst the trees? The powerful zoom on the TC’s camera reveals a usurper:

A snake coils comfortably on a tree trunk. I’m not sure what type of snake it is. Maybe a Copperhead:

Reflections of trees wobble in the boat’s wake:

Another quiet scene of lilly pads, trees and reflections. The TC is fond of such scenes:

All is quiet, nothing stirs:

Yet danger lurks ever close by. Here, in the bank next to the boat, a Cottonmouth rests:

Locals build their houses safely above flood level:

Right next door, someone thinks the safe level is even higher. A reaction to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, our guide informs us:

Alligators smile on a log:

Inexorable beauty:

Do alligators like marshmallows? Watch this video to find out:

That’s all for today, dudes.
Ghosts in Atlanta GA

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark and can proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

This week me and the TC spent four days in Atlanta, Georgia. That’s in the deep south of the United States, where people speak with a delightful slow drawl and are very, very polite. They also say “y’all” to get around the lamentable lack of a second-person plural in the English language. The deep south is also the home of deep-fried everything. A picture in the post proves it.

The TC spent most of her time working hard at a conference. This worm spent most of my time on the same page of the book I’m currently in, because the TC didn’t have much time to read.

We did get out one evening, to do the famous Atlanta Ghost Tour.

My impressions? Wide quiet streets, imposing churches, boarded-up buildings, and shiny office blocks. Not many ghosts materialised. To be exact, not a one. But the tour was fun anyway. A good way to see the night-time streets of Atlanta.

The book I’m in

Wool, by Hugh Howey. The TC has only just started this science fiction novel. This worm is enthralled by the characters and their situation, and keen to know more. I’ll have to prod the TC to get a move on.

Travel tip

If your bag keeps falling off your shoulder, or you feel a tap on your arm, or your hat lifts off your head, there’s a ghost in the ‘hood.

Recommended accommodation

Hyatt Regency Atlanta, at 265 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta. The TC is attending a conference, so we’re residing in the conference hotel. It’s a large, well-organised and very pleasant place to stay. Highly recommended for location, service and comfort.

Recommended restaurant

Ted’s Montana Grill, 133 Luckie Street, Atlanta. Excellent service, a friendly ambience, and plenty of character. The food is tasty too.

The photos

Me cowering in a park opposite the eerily-named and ghost-ridden Medical Arts building in Atlanta:

Our tech-savvy band of ghost-busters brandished various electronic gadgets to aid in the search. Below is the Ghost Radar app on my iPhone. This screenshot shows the Ghost Radar has picked up two presences. The red blip is emitting the strongest phantom vibes ,the yellow has medium strengths:

The leader of the ghost tour brought along a couple of K2 ghost meters, powerful detectors of spirit presence:

What struck me is the way the churches muddle in with the city’s glossy sky scrapers:

Outside the Medical Arts building, the K2 devices picked up a ghost. She’s well known. Her name is Sally, and she reputedly can tell creepy stories of the medical experiments carried out on hapless patients in the Medical Arts building of old.

We took a closer look at the Medical Arts building, later the same evening. Yes, we looped back for more chills:

This is the door. Knock if you dare:

The leader of our ghost tour told us the sad story of the Ellis Hotel in Peachtree Street, Atlanta. This building, then called the Winecoff Hotel, was the location of America’s most deadly hotel fire. Candy Kid, a well-known local thief, set the fire on purpose, because he wanted to kill a particular man. The intended victim escaped, and 119 died in his stead. Unsurprisingly, there are reports of many hauntings in and around the Ellis Hotel:

Many people take photos of this church, only to find a ghost or two in the shot. Do you see any?

As the night grows darker, the display in an army surplus store is evocative of other worlds:

A gas mask in the next window sends a shudder up this worm’s spine. (And my spine is not stiff, even at the best of times.)

The TC snapped this picture of the Atlanta city seal at the base of a lamp post. The bird is a phoenix rising from its ashes. The motto is “resurgens”, Latin for “rising again”. These symbolise the rebuilding of the city after it was destroyed in the American Civil War.

To finish off with, I’d like to lighten the tone. Looking for proof that they fry everything in the deep south? Look no further:

That’s all for today, dudes.
Table Mountain – what’s it like on top?

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark and can proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC were in Cape Town, South Africa, last week. We spent a day on Table Mountain. This worm has been there before (blogged too). The top of the mountain is one of the TC’s favourite places to be. This worm is fond of it too, though it can be a trifle draughty. I find myself hanging onto my hat, and the TC hanging onto me. It’s lucky one of us is the strong and silent type.

My impressions? A place of quiet and beauty.

The book I’m in

The Secret She Kept, by Amelia Carr. Tangled secrets, tangled emotions. The TC is moving me through this well-written book at a good pace.

Travel tip

If the mountain is clear, go up it. Do not delay. Tomorrow may never come. Or the cloud may roll in.

The photos

Me at Maclear’s beacon on top of Table Mountain:

We walked across the top of the mountain to Maclear’s Beacon. It’s a two-hour hike there and back, mostly flat with a short scramble when crossing from the front table to the back table. Great views, unique vegetation. Sir Thomas Maclear (1794 – 1879) was the queen’s astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope. He was a good friend of David Livingstone. One of the craters on the moon is named after him. Hmph, pretty famous, I suppose. He didn’t have a blog, though, unlike this worm.

Maclear’s beacon is at the highest point of Table Mountain – more than a kilometer up, at 1085 metres) It’s not much to look at: Just a heap of stones, built to act as a trigonometrical beacon. Still, it’s a good destination to aim for.

A view of Table Mountain draped in cloud, seen from the Waterfront in Cape Town. The TC took this photo after we intrepid explorers had come back down the mountain. You can just make out the top cable car station, towards the midlle-right of the photo where the cloud cover ends:

What on earth is that giant Lego man doing there? He is 18 metres high, made of 4200 Coca-Cola crates. A little bird told this worm the statue is called “Elliot” and is making a statement about recycling.

A close-up view of the top cable car station, with one of the cars visible near the bottom of the picture:

The next photo shows the view from the top. Those cables swoop down at a seemingly impossible angle, don’t they. At the end of the cables is the bottom cable car station. Also in the picture is Lion’s Head, the odd-shaped hill on the left of the cables. Cape Town city is to the right. In the bay, partially obscured by the cables, you can just make out Robben Island:

If you’re lucky enough to be at the top when the cloud moves in, you’ll see it flowing off the mountain and dissolving in the warmer air. This video also shows the coast on the west side of the mountain, ending with an eagle-eye view of Camps Bay, a popular Cape Town beach:

Walking into cloud on the mountain top is atmospheric and eerie:

The TC will take pot shots at plants wherever she goes. Pot shots with her camera, of course:

A plant in the mist:

Another pink plant:

A protea bush:

A protea flower in bud, with a dead bloom behind:

Back in the pink:

Walking back towards the cable car station, we chose the city side of the mountain. The cloud was advancing, swooping off the edge and rolling down towards the city:

That’s all for today, dudes.
Patting lions and licked by a giraffe in South Africa

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark and can proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC have recently returned from a trip to South Africa. While in Johannesburg, we visited the well-known Lion Park, in Honeydew. Get up close and personal with a lion, be licked by a giraffe, or chat to a meerkat.

This post is mostly about lions. But I’ll tell you a bit about Johannesburg while we’re at it. In contrast to my usual adventure-filled writings, this is a post in which a whole lot of nothing happens. But it’s attractive nothingness, with just a hint of hidden violence.

I see that the Lion Park has a celebrity wall. This worm is sure they’ll add my picture to it soon!

My impressions? Somnabulance. Slow-moving pedestrians on shimmering pavements. Umbrellas wavering in the haze of the summer heat. Barbed wire atop high walls. Electrified fences. Gorgeous shopping. Intense industry. Building, ever building. Chaotic crossroads. Hawkers. Quality and squalour. Awesome. Much inthe last few sentences describes the lions too. The giraffe is all awesome.

The book I’m in

Code to Zero, by Ken Follett. Titbits of rocket science, Soviet spies, CIA and NASA. Just want you want for a good, fast read.

Travel tip

If you’re going to get licked by a giraffe, have a wet wipe handy.

The photos

Me looking nonchalant, with lion looking uncomfortably interested:

I twaut I taw a puddy tat:

Sleeping lions – that’s all that happens in this video, honest:

Lions are not always dignified:

And then, that effortless dignity of the jungle king:

I was safely inside the car with the TC when she took this photo:

Safely? When a lion is just a few feet away and looking right at you, the thin metal of a car door seems a flimsy barrier.

The other denizens of the park provide some light relief:

You’ve just gotta love a face like that.

Fancy being licked by a giraffe?

The TC discovered that a giraffe’s tongue is long and slightly rough to the touch. The saliva is plentiful and sticky.

Mmmm:

That’s all for today, dudes.