|
|
Post by pie on Sept 3, 2011 16:07:10 GMT
Pie has just had what seems to have been an enjoyable afternoon/evening here in Blackpool. When she said on the JMB that she was planning to see Blackpool Illuminations switched on I thought it was only good manners(!) to invite her to meet up, so we had a wander around the town and Promenade, and went on the beach, something I haven't actually done for a fair while (even though I miss being near the sea when I'm away from it). We had fish 'n' chips at a prizewinning chippy, then went back to the Prom to wait for the Lights to be switched on, which caused a "Wooo!" and a round of applause from the assembled multitudes. The Tower has been done up, and the light patterns on the top are very impressive. Then we drove ( very slowly) along most of the length before she set off back to her hotel in Derbyshire. It was really good to meet another Mayhemer, especially one from the other end of the world, and I hope Pie enjoyed chatting to someone with an interest in James and a good working knowledge of driving in Blackpool! Enjoy the rest of your stop in the UK, Pie! Thanks Dit! How lucky was I, being chauffeured around Blackpool by someone who actually knew where they were going. I'd still be driving around in circles if it wasn't for you and your trusty Mini! ;D I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the place - just when I thought I'd seen everything, along comes Blackpool.  ;D It was a shame it had to be a bit rushed and that my concentration levels were waning by the end of it (I must admit, I nearly had to pull over by the side of the road and have a quick snooze as I was struggling to keep my eyes open on the way back). Dit, it was really wonderful of you to show me around. If someone had've said to me six months ago that I'd be meeting a fellow JMBer in Lancashire, I would've thought they were seriously nuts.  But opportunities of this nature don't present themselves too often, so I'm really glad we were able to actually meet each other! Now, considering I've driven somewhere in the order of 450 miles in the last two days I can't be, erm...bothered to do ANYTHING right now.  I will post a few pics of my trip soon - I've been a bit slow on that front. |
|
|
|
Post by jacqui on Sept 3, 2011 16:47:55 GMT
Thats exactly what makes this board a fab place ;D Really pleased you guys had a great day out ;D
|
|
|
|
Post by dit on Sept 3, 2011 19:27:14 GMT
Pie, it was my pleasure to show you around! Yes, Blackpool isn't the high cultural point of the UK, but it's unique in its cheerful tawdriness, which it does so awfully well!
I've now met four members of the JMB (Jacqui, The Daisy, XFS and now Pie) and each time it's been a fab experience. If anyone else is heading Lancashire way and looking for a tour guide, here I am!
|
|
|
|
Post by jacqui on Sept 3, 2011 19:35:35 GMT
If anyone else is heading Lancashire way and looking for a tour guide, here I am! I'm going to buy you a colourful umbrella! Thats what all the best tour guides have isn't it? Follow me and my parasol!  |
|
|
|
Post by dit on Sept 3, 2011 19:51:55 GMT
Love the little smiley! Sadly, the parasol would have been on umbrella fatigues today - it's thrashed it down all day here in 'sunny' Blackpool!
|
|
|
|
Post by aeromanda on Sept 4, 2011 0:40:44 GMT
I'm in my motel room in Marathon Florida. I had the neatest day today. We went to a turtle hospital. They rescue and take care of sea turtles that are sick or injured. If the turtles get well enough they are then released into the wild. If not, they become permanent residents of the hospital. I have always loved sea turtles so this was a real treat for me to get to see them so up close. I even got to see baby hatchlings up close. I never thought I would get to do that! It is sad that there is a need for such a place (most of the injuries are results of the behavior of humans, garbage or boats) but it is encouraging to see that there are people that are so dedicated to helping the turtles. After our visit to the hospital we went and explored Key West a little bit. Had lunch there. Our plan is to go back there tomorrow and take a trolley tour of the island. Should be fun.  |
|
|
|
Post by meimichan on Sept 4, 2011 1:23:49 GMT
I'm in my motel room in Marathon Florida. I had the neatest day today. We went to a turtle hospital. They rescue and take care of sea turtles that are sick or injured. If the turtles get well enough they are then released into the wild. If not, they become permanent residents of the hospital. I have always loved sea turtles so this was a real treat for me to get to see them so up close. I even got to see baby hatchlings up close. I never thought I would get to do that! It is sad that there is a need for such a place (most of the injuries are results of the behavior of humans, garbage or boats) but it is encouraging to see that there are people that are so dedicated to helping the turtles. After our visit to the hospital we went and explored Key West a little bit. Had lunch there. Our plan is to go back there tomorrow and take a trolley tour of the island. Should be fun. Don't leave Florida without trying a key lime pie.  |
|
|
|
Post by Vivienne on Sept 4, 2011 1:32:06 GMT
ditMy cousin and I are going to be getting of the ferry at Heysham and take the train to Lancaster to pick up our car. Maybe we could meet up. I have to check my itinerary for what day of the week it would be.
|
|
|
|
Post by dit on Sept 4, 2011 11:55:08 GMT
Hey Vivienne! PM me when you know when you'll be around. I'm only about 25 minutes from Lancaster.
This is turning into a bit of a hobby for me, isn't it?
|
|
|
|
Post by pie on Sept 5, 2011 21:07:50 GMT
Drove through Marlborough today.  Shop front has changed a bit, but it's the same place...  ;D |
|
|
|
Post by dit on Sept 5, 2011 22:11:05 GMT
Brilliant! No James, I assume? Ah well.
|
|
|
|
Post by meimichan on Sept 6, 2011 23:49:52 GMT
MOH and I are apparently sharing brains today. He came home with the idea of taking 4 days off for our anniversary (one year Oct. 16th!) and getting the heck out of here. We haven't been anywhere since our horrible trip to Michigan back in May. We won't be going too far due to funds, but just getting out will be a nice change. Not sure yet. Duluth, Door County, Twin Cities, and I'm always up for Chicago but we've done that one before. The poor fool whom I love dearly has given me free reign on planning this(he has since admitted that this is in case the trip sucks, then it's all my fault ). I love planning trips. I want a job so I can plan and take a lot more vacations. ;D So where should we go? |
|
|
|
Post by Vivienne on Sept 7, 2011 0:14:59 GMT
What about the Twin Cities? I hear the Mall of America is quite fantastic. What about the upper Michigan peninsula. I have a friend to lived there and she did not like the cold weather. But from the pictures, it is beautiful.
|
|
|
|
Post by meimichan on Sept 7, 2011 0:25:51 GMT
What about the Twin Cities? I hear the Mall of America is quite fantastic. What about the upper Michigan peninsula. I have a friend to lived there and she did not like the cold weather. But from the pictures, it is beautiful. We can't spend too much money but I found some fairly decent hotel prices for the Twin Cities, so it's definitely under consideration. Plus I've never been(I changed flights there once, and 15 minutes of running across the airport does not count) and I do love a big city. I'd probably pass on the Mall of America, not my kind of thing, but the art museums would definitely get a visit.  Two friends who lived there apparently. Michigan Tech alum here, I lived in the UP for four years. Want some snow stories? MOH is a big fan of taking long weekends there, and I am sick of going there. It's beautiful, but I'd really like to try something different. Plus mid-October...snow danger not as low as we'd like. Hey, I did my four years, I am done with 9 month long winters. |
|
|
|
Post by vertebraille on Sept 7, 2011 10:07:26 GMT
MOH and I are apparently sharing brains today. He came home with the idea of taking 4 days off for our anniversary (one year Oct. 16th!) and getting the heck out of here. We haven't been anywhere since our horrible trip to Michigan back in May. We won't be going too far due to funds, but just getting out will be a nice change. Not sure yet. Duluth, Door County, Twin Cities, and I'm always up for Chicago but we've done that one before. The poor fool whom I love dearly has given me free reign on planning this(he has since admitted that this is in case the trip sucks, then it's all my fault ). I love planning trips. I want a job so I can plan and take a lot more vacations. ;D So where should we go? I'm also trying to plan a long weekend away in October. Do you want to plan mine? I'm not having much luck due to a lack of funds  Is the weather still nice? It must be nice at the lakes? |
|
|
|
Post by meimichan on Sept 7, 2011 16:04:34 GMT
MOH and I are apparently sharing brains today. He came home with the idea of taking 4 days off for our anniversary (one year Oct. 16th!) and getting the heck out of here. We haven't been anywhere since our horrible trip to Michigan back in May. We won't be going too far due to funds, but just getting out will be a nice change. Not sure yet. Duluth, Door County, Twin Cities, and I'm always up for Chicago but we've done that one before. The poor fool whom I love dearly has given me free reign on planning this(he has since admitted that this is in case the trip sucks, then it's all my fault ). I love planning trips. I want a job so I can plan and take a lot more vacations. ;D So where should we go? I'm also trying to plan a long weekend away in October. Do you want to plan mine? I'm not having much luck due to a lack of funds Is the weather still nice? It must be nice at the lakes? I feel your pain Vertebraille, we're pretty destitute here as well. I wanted Duluth or Door County, but the hotels in both areas are out of my price range. Mid-october will be mid-fall for us, so the weather will be quite cool here, but likely not cool enough for snow to fly...unless we go far enough north. I live in the Great Lakes region...we've got some of the craziest weather in the country. |
|
|
|
Post by Vivienne on Sept 7, 2011 16:21:03 GMT
I've been using hotels.com and then found booking.com which usually has better deals. I've changed several hotels because they seem less expensive.
|
|
|
|
Post by aeromanda on Sept 9, 2011 17:51:33 GMT
I'm home from my trip to FL. We had a really nice time but I'm glad to be home. There were a few things from my trip that I would like to share. On our drive down, I believe we were in the Carolinas, we passed a Waffle House. (For those of you in the UK and elsewhere a Waffle House is a chain restaurant in the southern US which is cheap but good. Pretty low scale, kind of dinerish.) In the parking lot of the Waffle house, parked next to each other there were three red corvets. We were like "Corvets? At the Waffle House?" My husband suspected that it may have been an owners club meeting.
Also, the front license plate on my car says "The Stig" and has the British flag on it. And on the back of my car I have a sticker that has a silhouette of the Stig and says "I am the Stig". At a rest stop in FL, an English gentleman came up to me and asked if I would mind if he took a picture of the sticker on the back of my car. He said that he didn't know that Top Gear had made it to the US. When we were leaving a beach in Marathon FL, a couple in a car that was pulling in next to us made frantic gestures to me. I rolled down my window and they asked me "Where did you get that great sticker, it is awesome." We chatted about Top Gear for a few minutes and then parted ways. The final fun bit was when we went trough a toll in FL and the toll taker looked at the car, looked at me and said "That's not the Stig!" I responded "Hey, you never know!" It was really fun chatting with other TG fans. Didn't expect to encounter any but now and again I do and they always seem to be nice people.
|
|
|
|
Post by eolise on Sept 9, 2011 21:07:15 GMT
Sounds great, Aeromanda! ;D Good you're home safely. I have NEVER ever met a TG fan in real life in my country.
@pie: Wow, awesome! ;D
|
|
|
|
Post by Vivienne on Sept 18, 2011 15:13:43 GMT
Got a knot the size of Texas in my gut.Just a few more days and untold amount of things to get done. The dollar has tanked so it's a good thing most of the expensive stuff is paid for like hotels.Going to learn Skype today with my very impatient son. Can't wait.
|
|
|
|
Post by eolise on Sept 18, 2011 16:17:43 GMT
All the best, Vivienne! |
|
pesepheny18
Smutty Mayhemer
I can get lost in those eyes
Posts: 162
|
Post by pesepheny18 on Sept 19, 2011 7:41:14 GMT
Mice - stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and events/exhibitions it's a travel industry term.
Well I hve two days left of TAFE (vocational college) and then I am off on two weeks holidays. On Thursday I fly up to Hervey Bay to visit a friend who I went to primary school with and reconnected on facebook with. She is going to take me whale watching and I am so looking foward to that. Then Im heading down to Brisbane to catch up with a friend from my university days. Next stop is to Dalby which is four hours west of Brisbane to spend a few days with family there, then on to Toowoomba to visit my best friend and her partner and their 5 month old baby boy. Then back to Brisbane to catch a flight back to Sydney. I just have the dreaded packing to do.
|
|
|
|
Post by antonia on Sept 19, 2011 15:38:39 GMT
Have a great holidays Pesephany and Viviene.
|
|
|
|
Post by pie on Sept 20, 2011 20:09:31 GMT
Have a great time on holidays, Vivienne and pesepheny18! Well, I'm going home tomorrow. Poo bum.  England, you've treated me very well. (But as for you, James...I turned up to Hammersmith twice and you bl**dy well didn't show!! ;D) |
|
|
|
Post by Vivienne on Sept 20, 2011 20:13:04 GMT
Well maybe I'll be luckier. However it depends on when the "next two weeks" is in Jeremy's Witney interview.
|
|
|
|
Post by jameslover28 on Sept 20, 2011 20:54:59 GMT
Drove through Marlborough today. Shop front has changed a bit, but it's the same place... ;D I live near Marlborough! I went to school there, i was so annoyed when i found out they had been in town while i was stuck in lessons! and the fact they broke down outside Marlborough College and not our school  |
|
|
|
Post by dit on Sept 20, 2011 22:34:06 GMT
Well, I'm going home tomorrow. Poo bum. England, you've treated me very well. (But as for you, James...I turned up to Hammersmith twice and you bl**dy well didn't show!! ;D) I can't believe you're going home already, Pie! I hope you've truly enjoyed your Top Gear (and other things) Tour and that the UK has been good to you. Still, we'll all still be in touch with you through the JMB even when you're home in Oz! |
|
|
|
Post by pie on Sept 21, 2011 8:04:24 GMT
I can't believe you're going home already, Pie! I hope you've truly enjoyed your Top Gear (and other things) Tour and that the UK has been good to you. Still, we'll all still be in touch with you through the JMB even when you're home in Oz! Thanks Dit.  For me, time's gone really slow...which is a good thing! ;D Feels like I've been over here for ages. Now I just want the next 36 hours to go really quick...  |
|
|
|
Post by antonia on Oct 8, 2011 15:52:39 GMT
Have just started to make plans for my bf's birthday next year.She hits 50 so a massive week or weekend is being planed.We were going to NY but have decided to go to Vagas to party with the loons instead,all being well I can't wait.
|
|
|
|
Post by adrianmay on Oct 8, 2011 16:03:12 GMT
Have just started to make plans for my bf's birthday next year.She hits 50 so a massive week or weekend is being planed.We were going to NY but have decided to go to Vagas to party with the loons instead,all being well I can't wait. Sorry, do you mean Las Vegas? For between $60-100, you can get a flight to LA from there. It's a 1 hr flight. Maybe if you win a little in Vegas, you can add LA to your itinerary? |
|
;D It was a shame it had to be a bit rushed and that my concentration levels were waning by the end of it (I must admit, I nearly had to pull over by the side of the road and have a quick snooze as I was struggling to keep my eyes open on the way back).
But opportunities of this nature don't present themselves too often, so I'm really glad we were able to actually meet each other!
I will post a few pics of my trip soon - I've been a bit slow on that front.
I love a man who can handle a gun 
England, you've treated me very well. (But as for you, James...I turned up to Hammersmith twice and you bl**dy well didn't show!! 
For me, time's gone really slow...which is a good thing! ;D Feels like I've been over here for ages.
