Big Andys Scootering Site

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Our American adventure began on Wednesday night by travelling up to Earl & Sarah's house in Warrington as we were staying there over night as they live only a few miles from Manchester Airport. Dawn and myself stopped in Uttoxetter for a bite to eat. We ordered our food and waited, and waited. After 3/4 hour wait i complained about the wait and was told our meal would be with us shortly, which it duly was but Dawns meal was not very hot so we complained again. The waitress offered to get Dawn a fresh meal but we told her we couldn't wait another hour for it to arrive so we got our money back and Dawn ate what she could. We finally arrived at Earl & Sarahs about 9pm and were made very welcome by them. Sarah, like Dawn was really excited but Earl, like me, was apprehensive. I could not get excited as yet as i was sure i would get to America only to be turned away. I had heard so many stories about America that i was sure, with my past record, that immigration would not let me in and Earl thought similar about himself

......We were all up about 7am on Thursday morning as we had to get to Manchester Airport by 9am for Earl & Sarah to check in. They were on the Atlanta plane, as were most of the travellers using Manchester Airport, whilst we were on a flight to Philadelphia. Our check in desks opened about 9:30 so we said our goodbyes to Earl & Sarah and waited by our check in desks. Before long we were in the departure lounge joining the likes of J. Bolland, S Foster, Jonah, Dave & Ritchie Gould, Dave & Bubbles, Taff, Geordie Gaz and Paul from Lincoln SC to name a few, in the bar. Most of them soon left to catch their plane to Atlanta which left an hour before our plane. Those on the Philadelphia plane included J Bolland, Jonah & Sam, Tubby, Anita and the Macclesfield Kroozers lot Kev & George, Jigs & Paula, Hampy & Fi, Steve & Tracy and Matt & Sarah. Our plane left on time and we settled in for our 8 hour flight to Philadelphia which soon passed and we were soon in the queue at immigration. This was the moment of truth. What was i so worried about, it was a doddle? Digital fingerprint and laser eye print taken, a quick scan of my passport and i was in. WHAY HEY. Now i could get excited. We made our way over to catch our next plane to LAS VEGAS and settled into the bar with the Kroozers lot. We had been their about 20 mins when a snow storm came over, and what a snow storm it was, the flakes were huge and it snowed for quite some time. We made our way to our gate only to be told that our plane was over booked and they wanted volunteers to give up their seat. This continued for some time before we finally took off for Vegas 3 hours late

.....We should have arrived in Vegas at 9:30pm but arrived just after midnight and arrived at our hotel, The Riviera, just after 1am. We queued to check in, with Dave Oakley constantly taking the p**s about our time of arrival, before dumping our bags in our rooms and joining everyone at the bar. We stayed at the bar untill 6am before retiring to bed. We arose about 10am and went up the road to Dennys for breakfast/lunch. I ordered an American burger with what i thought was a side order of onion rings, cheese fries and chicken strips but when it arrived it was huge. Even a man of my size couldn't eat all that i had got and i ended up leaving half my burger and most of the onion rings. We returned to our hotel bar to find Crash & Donna who were getting married that afternoon. They and all their marriage guests were dressed up as Elvis and it was a spectacular sight to see them all. We wished Crash & Donna all the best and declined their invitation to attend their wedding as they had two guests we didn't want to mix with so left them to get married. Friday afternoon was the scheduled Meet and Greet with the Americans in a down town bar called The Gold Spike. This bar had to be about the worst in Vegas, it was a hole. A section in the middle was closed off as the rain was leaking through the roof, still with beer $2 for a massive jug we didn't complain. We spent the next couple of hours meeting some of the American scooterists, including a couple who were originally from Lincolnshire, and a gal called Chrissy who occasionally went on the ii chat room, and drinking cheap beer before returning to our hotel to get ready for the nights entertainment.

.....The arrangement was for us all to meet in Quarks, a Star Trek themed bar, about 9pm but Dawn and myself got there early so we could eat. Halfway through our meal every one else started to arrive and before long the bar was packed. We then boarded our luxury Coaches for the trip to the Double Down Saloon which was a bikers bar. After that it was back on board the coaches and with champagne in hand we had a trip up the strip of Las Vegas to the Crown & Anchor British Bar for another beer before our last leg of the trip to the Frontier Hotel for the Friday night do. Once we got to the Frontier Hotel Dawn and myself had a beer before retiring back to our hotel for another beer, then went to bed.

.....Saturday was myself and Dawns 22nd wedding anniversary and as a special treat i had arranged for us both to go on a helicopter trip over The Grand Canyon. The problem was the weather. All off Fridays trips had been cancelled so you can imagine our relief at awakening Saturday morning to bright sunshine. We both went downstairs to the buffet restaurant for breakfast first though. This was where you paid about $10 each to get in but then helped yourself to as much food as you wanted. We then returned to our room to await our pick up for the Helicopter trip. Whilst waiting there was a knock at the door. I sent Dawn to answer it as i knew who it was, and Dawns face was a picture when she was presented with the massive bouquet of flowers that i had arranged to be delivered. See i'm an old romantic at heart and i don't mean i like Duran Duran or Visage. We were picked up at 12:30 only to be told our trip was 50/50. There was some bad weather on its way and we would have to see if we were going once we got to the heliport. Luckily we were going but only just, every trip after us was cancelled so we were relieved to be going. In our helicopter was 2 blokes from Essex and an Aussie. Dawn was in the front and i was sat just behind her by one of the side windows. We first went over Lake Mead before going over the Hoover Dam. This is monstrous, huge, apparently over 700 feet tall, then it was over to the Grand Canyon. This place just takes your breath away. We landed down on the floor of the canyon for our champagne lunch just as another party were departing so had to hang on to everything so it didn't fly off. The only down side to the canyon was the little black midges that were everywhere. We were told that their bite would result in a swelling and were given some spray to put on. Needless to say both myself and Dawn picked up a couple of bites. After about 1/2 hour we left to return to the heliport just as the bad weather arrived. It was surreal to fly in between two storms but thankfully there was that corridor for us to fly back. Once we were over Vegas we flew along the strip so we could see it from above road level. I am so glad we made the trip as it was awesome, not you're normal rally event but something both Dawn and myself will remember for a long, long time. On our arrival back at the riviera Hotel we found another wedding party at the bar. Craig & Jo from Birmingham Olympics SC had got married at 3pm in the hotel and again we were invited but because of the helicopter trip we couldn't attend. We had a drink with them before they went off for something to eat and we went to get ready for the nights do.

....The main do of the weekend was taking place in the Golden Ballroom in the Saraha Hotel and Steve Foster had asked Dawn if she would sit at the door for a couple of hours and take the cash/tickets at the do tonight. Those of us in Vegas who are with the VFM were not really working but had t-shirts to wear anyway. Dawn was supposed to be there from 8pm - 10pm but that was extended to 11pm so i asked Steve to get her some help as it was getting busy. At 11pm the SWS lot took over so Dawn and myself could now start to enjoy our selves. We went for a drink only to find the bars packed so we went downstairs into the main Sahara Hotel Casino bar, problem was so had many others. I finally got served by this miserable arrogant American excuse for a barman. I ordered double drinks and gave him a $50 bill only got change for $20. I politely pointed out his mistake but he didn't want to know and then ignored me. I lost my temper and caused a scene yelling at him. Some Americans next to me backed up my story but still he didn't want to know. I told him i wanted his supervisor but he refused to get him. The Americans next to me told me to go to the pit controllers by the roulette wheels. This i did and they called for the bar supervisor who arrived about 10 mins later. He had a chat with the barman and told me when they cashed up the till they would check to see if it was up or not. I was not happy about this but it was all they were offering so i left my name and hotel address with the supervisor knowing i wouldn't hear from him again. The whole episode had spoiled my night and i now detested Americans. Anyway back at the do there was 2 bands on during the night and thats all im going to mention about them as they were poor. The DJ'ing was done between USA and UK DJ's but unfortunately it was mostly Northern Soul, which if you know me will know i don't care much for. Dawn and myself sat with the ii lot who were staying in a different hotel to us and we had not untill that night seen them. The ii that had come over were Mick & Sarah, John & Karen, OAJJ, Kyla, Biscuit as well as Rita, Earl & Sarah. About 1:30 am the bars shut as we had drunk them dry so myself and Dawn returned to our hotel for a couple more drinks before retiring to bed. I had not enjoyed the night much at all and thought it was a poor night. I didn't think much to the bands, the American Dj's had a strange taste in music and i got ripped off at the bar.

.....We had made the decision to get up earlyish on Sunday as we wanted to go and see as much of Vegas today as it was our last full day there but as it turned out we didn't have much choice as the damn cleaner was banging on our door at 8:45. So after picking a few choice English words to shout at her we were awake so we showered and got ready to go out. We wanted to visit as many of the top hotels as possible and started of by going to the Venetian Hotel. Before i go on i must explain that the hotels in Vegas are not really hotels as we think of, they are like a small town, they're huge, with most having a small shopping centre in them based on a particular theme, for example the Venetian Hotel had a shopping centre centered around a canal complete with gondolas and singing gondoliers. It was hard to believe that all this was inside a Hotel even though i was seeing it with my own eyes. After the Venetian Hotel we walked along the strip to Ceasers Palace. Their shopping centre was based on Rome and the Romans and again was huge. There was even a few people dressed up in costume to entice people into their own different shops. After Ceasers Palace we again walked up the strip past the Paris Hotel, with its own Eiffel Tower, and the MGM Grand to the New York, New York Hotel as we had heard their buffet restaurant was very good. Inside they had a centre laid out like New York but as we were going to the real thing the next day we didn't bother to look round but headed for the restaurant. The queue to get in the restaurant was quite long, or as an American behind us put it "the line is outrageous", so, as we needed to rest our feet, we had a drink in the bar instead. After our rest we got a cab back down the strip to Treasure Island Hotel before strolling back down the strip to our hotel and a few beers in the bar. We were supposed to go to a BBQ laid on by our American hosts but as Earl & Sarah were at the bar we stayed there instead to rest our feet. As it happens it was a good decision as Dave & Bubbles told us later it was miles out of town and they had walked half of it. Also in there was Paul from Lincoln SC and his misses, Paul was emptying a fruit machine of its change before joining us at the bar. I asked Earl what their plan was for that night and when he told us they were going to go up the Stratosphere i asked if we could tag along as we wanted to go up there as well.
.....Having got washed and changed we met up with Earl & Sarah back at the bar and were joined by Jigs, Paula, Hampy & Fi so 2 taxis later we were queuing to go up the Stratosphere. We didn't have to wait too long before we were in a lift going 1149 feet up to the top. Well not quite the top as that was for a ride that bungyed you up to the top. This was 1 of 3 rides, the 2nd was a roller coaster ride round the top of the tower but the 3rd was the scariest. It was a small track that shot a cart over the edge of the tower then dropped a few feet. It scared the life out of me just watching so god knows how the people on it felt. The view at the top was spectacular. You had to go up at night to appreciate the view, with all the Las Vegas lights spread out below you. Once we were back down on the ground we decided to go for something to eat so Jigs, Paula, Hampy, Fi, Dawn and myself went for a steak & surf dinner whilst Earl & sarah went off for a burger as they didn't fancy steak. After we had stuffed ourselves at the Flamingo Hotel we decided to go on the Monorail as Fi wanted to go on it, but as a few of us wanted to go to the Treasure Island Hotel to see the free show put on outside the hotel we agreed to get off near there. So we boarded the Monorail only to discover we had to get of at the next stop. We didn't travel far on it at all but at least we can say we have been on it. At the Treasure Island show it was packed and we could hardly see a thing but we stopped to the end then walked back to our hotel then retired to bed to catch a few ours sleep before getting up at 4am to catch our flight to New York. 5am Monday morning saw us getting cabs to the airport for our flight to New York via Philadelphia, whilst some were going via Atlanta and the end of our Las Vegas adventure, but the start of a new one in New York.

We arrived back at Philadelphia on time and made our way over to gate F13 for our next plane to La Guardia, New York as we had just over an hour between flights. Whilst we were waiting it was announced that there was a weight restriction on our plane and it could only take 34 passengers and would anyone give up their seat and catch the later plane which went an hour later. There was 23 of us Brits on this plane so none of us were going to give up our seat. This dragged on for a while before they moved us to gate F20, but still they were asking for volunteers to give up their seat. We were then informed there was a technical problem with the plane. Apparently the radio wasn't working properly so we would have to wait for it to be repaired. You can imagine our anger when a short time later it was announced the radio was ok after all but the plane was now taking the later flight to La Guardia leaving us behind. Those that had volunteered to give up their seat on our flight ended up flying out before us. We all started to complain and Anita, aptly backed up by Kev kicked into gear and went and saw the supervisor. It transpired that they hadn't got a crew to fly us to La Guardia as our crew had taken the later flight. Anita got them to agree to give us a free meal voucher (which we never got) and a promise that we would leave soon. Next we were told that we were being taken to New York by coach as there wasn't going to be anymore flights to La Guardia that day. This was not good enough and again Anita and Kev kicked up a fuss getting them to get a crew from somewhere to fly us to La Guardia. Eventually they got a crew and we took off for New York 3 hours late. By now i had made my mind up that i would never return to this damn country, i was well pissed off with America and its people. We should have got to the Pennsylvania Hotel about 6pm but got there after 9pm. I again got ripped off when the cabbie gave me my change and was $10 short. When i argued with him he just drove off. Why is it always me that gets ripped off, do i give off vipes that tell these yanks to rip me off, is it any wonder i have a bad opinion of them. We got our rooms and after a quick wash and change we were in the Irish bar opposite our hotel where we stayed untill we went food hunting with Dave & Bubbles, then went to bed.

.....Next morning we had all arranged to meet in the hotel lobby as we were going to go sight seeing. It was decided to use the open topped buses as we could get on and off when we wanted. having all boarded the bus we took a few photos and as i stood up to get my camera back a traffic light missed my head by inches. Having got a rollicking from the tour guide i sat down to enjoy the tour. Our first stop was at Ground Zero where we first got a coffee as it was bloody freezing on the bus. Ground Zero was eerie. everywhere around it was damaged and black and the solitary metal girder stood up in the middle was a strange sight. When we left Ground Zero to walk down to the ferry for the Statue of Liberty we lost a few of the party, but carried on down to the ferry. The queue for the ferry was massive so we decided to get the free Staten Island ferry instead. This doesn't go to the Statue of Liberty but sails across the front of it so it was good enough. Whilst walking down to the ferry a snow ball fight broke out amongst us which upset a few Americans around us who complained as they didn't want their little darlings hurt. Miserable gits, don't there kids have snowball fights then. Needless to say a stray snowball went close to hitting the miserable git, accidentally of course (not). After we had done the ferry and seen the Statue of Liberty, we jumped back on a bus and went by Central Park and on to Time Square. We decided to get some food here and settled into a bar and grill. There was over 20 of us so the fact we got our food quite quickly was to be applauded. From here we all went off and did our own bit, Dawn and myself went shopping for some stuff for our kids and for some souvenirs.

.....The plan for Tuesday night was to meet in the Irish bar, Blarney Rock Pub, across the street from our hotel then get a taxi down to John Street Bar and Grill near Greenwich Village where the do organised by the girls of the Donne Veloci Scooter club, was being held. We were also celebrating Lobby's 40th birthday as well that night and a couple of strippers had been booked for him. These turned out to be very tame compared to the ones back home but i suppose the law is different in New York. Everyone was soon the worse for alcohol and having a good time including doing an impromptu limbo dancing competition. Just before 2am Dawn and myself said our goodbyes and left to go back to the hotel. Next morning Dawn and Bubbles went off to do some last minute shopping before we had breakfast then checked out of the hotel.

....The trip to the airport was detoured as the tunnel under the Hudson River was shut due to an accident but we arrived with plenty of time to spare. The flight from La Guardia to Philadelphia was on time as was the flight back to Manchester. Halfway across i over heard one of the air stewards say we were being diverted because of bad weather in Manchester but luckily the weather improved and we landed in Manchester only 20 minutes late.

.....So that was it, our American adventure was over. Had i enjoyed it? On the whole yes i had and Dawn had loved it. The hassles we experienced getting to our destinations was a pain in the butt, but once we were at our destinations i enjoyed myself. Would i go again? Probably not, the hassle is just not worth it but if i did it would be on direct flights only.