Farewell till we meet again America .....

Have I mentioned how much we love Iowa? 

*sigh*

Thankyou to our friends Michelle & Mark for having us in your home and making us feel like we were in our own.

*bottomlip tremble*

*cough*

Ok so we spent the last couple of days chilling out and just enjoying the time with our friends till we see them again. There is something about Iowa we both love. From the houses to the people - everything makes us feel very Zen.

On Thursday evening we decided to show M & M - an Aussie Barby. We grabbed some steaks the size of a doorstep, made some Potato in Jacket and make sure you are sitting down people .....

I made a Pavlova ....

Oh yeahhhhhhh I DID. Keep the fainting and swooning in shock down to a minimum please.

We drank good wine and just talked and ate and basically had a blissful time.

On Friday evening we all piled into the car and went to The Snus Hill Winery. This was very very cool. What happens is you take some picnic fare like cheese or fruit or whatever you like and you grab a bottle of their wine to partake in as you listen to some fab music and chill out on a balmy mid western evening...

*blink*

In heaven much?????????

The music was awesome with some very cool blues to soothe the soul .....

Sadly all good things must close for at least a little while so on Saturday morning we loaded ourselves and our stuff into the hire car and began the trek across country to LA. 

Ok ok I will admit it here and now - I did get a wee bit emotional after giving them a huge hug and had to quickly get in the car .....

We drove across Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and finally back into California. Mr Fab kept amusing himself by doing impersonations of .... me.

Apparently I do some quite odd things .....

I wish it wasnt as funny as it is.

Make a note here: Under NO circumstances stay at the Green River Ramada ....... UGH

I asked Mr Fab did he want to divert to Reno for a quickie divorce but he said he wants to stay married to me......

*girly giggle that I promise will NEVER happen again*

A very long drive but again we have seen quite a lot of America!!!! Just out of Nevada we hit quite a stretch of traffic and Mr Fab did start to get a wee bit cranky with nutters who were driving ....

THEN we hit the LA freeway.

DEAR GOD PEOPLE!!!! Seriously??????? I mean SERIOUSLY??????????? 

Gertie the GPS kept saying : "Stay to the left then stay in the left lane but move the right lane ..."

Across 5 lanes of gridlocked traffic???????? We had a couple of people make rude gestures and one woman in her big black truck with daffodils was very undaffodilly as she screeched past us.

I need to mention how incredible Mr Fab was. We do work well together but it was insane stupid scary in that traffic. I am navigator which I did very well indeed - but then the Fuel Gauge made a beeping sound and told us we had 25 Miles left of petrol.........

*GAHHHHHHHHHHHH*

We both just looked at each other and had those "OH MY GAWD" faces people get in situations like that.

We followed Gertie and her instructions all the while noting out loud that we had 10 miles of petrol and 2 miles to destination ....... SHUTUP GERTIE!!!!!!

We made it to a petrol station and basically sat there blinking for a few moments before a high five and Mr Fab crawling out of the car to throw in $20 of gas....

Now it is time to be vegetables in our Travelodge at LAX hotel and think about tomorrow .....

After all tomorrow is another day .....

Revamp, Restore & Be Fabulous.

Come sit under The Apple Tree with me.

Check out this morning and collecting the Hire Car for the last part of this lot of Fabulous Fun. We are driving back to Iowa following Mish & Mark in their car.

I have mentioned Mr Fabs Howard Hughes like behaviour since we embarked on this trip and I have honestly never seen anyone so completely obsessed with washing his hands and using hand sanitiser. Well the worst happened and this morning he woke up feeling vaguely dodgy so decided to knock it out of the ball park ...*clever use of Baseball analogy* and take some Panadol or similar. I gave him some I had brought when we arrived and the good thing about the pain relief here is it is bloody brilliant.

I didnt even THINK to read what the container said as they had worked for me so figured they would for him as well.

As we were driving I kept saying to him " Are you ok?"

He didnt sound right and kept saying he was tired. I was baffled as he had managed a good sleep the night before and was fine when we started.

We pulled in to visit Apple Tree Antiques and I thought I might read the container ........

*sigh*

"Will cause sleepyness and do not take more than 1 in 24 hours"

He had ......... 3.

He promptly laid the seat back and fell asleep while the rest of us wandered about the Property.

OH MY GAWD PEOPLE!!!!!!

I had pretty much passed out, swooned, fainted, been revived, fainted again and had to have a Bex and a good lie down BEFORE I even entered the Sorting part of the store. They have the Shop where everything is marked and set up beautifully and they have the junk shed where everything is tossed in willynilly and you walk through carefully while open mouthed in gobsmacked shock.

Well for someone like me who Revamps & Restores I was almost in tears by the end of the first round of looking. So much delicious chippy goodness I was in heaven.

Vintage masons randomly stacked on raggady old shelves next to scrumptious chippy boxes and crates piled high on top of raggady old electrical transformers ........

*sigh*

STOP IT TRACY!!!! *slap slap respounding forehead slap* I spoke quite severly to myself that I am FS Vintage and I have a job to do. Masons need replenishing back home so lets get this done NOW.

There was a cabinet inside filled to the brim with rare jars and I am pretty sure my heart stopped beating for a full second as I looked at Jars I can dream of finding.

The prices at Apple Tree are reasonable but I enjoy the thrill of the hunt and finding the rare jars for myself. I have managed to find ONE Lightning Jar in Australia which made me swoon so it was quite gobsmacking to see a few of them in varying sizes in one place. I have now actually seen a Number 13  Vintage Mason ...... Yep they had a Number 13. The interesting thing about the Number 13 is they are constantly touted as rare. Yes they are rare in so far as they are vintage jars but my research over the many years we have been collecting is that the housewives during the depression did not in fact smash them should they have a 13 on the bottom. Times were harsh back then and to waste a perfectly good jar by smashing it would simply not have been done. Think about it people ....... these people were literally living day to day, hand to mouth and no money to spare for anything. Could you see a Depression Housewive deliberately smashing a preserve jar simply because the number 13 was stamped on the bottom?

No - neither could I. HOWEVER - I was seriousy tempted but had to behave myself.

I was hearing the seductive siren call of a Gallon Lightning Jar but I have to be mindful that Mr Fab is over the top indulgent in our Collection at home and in fact has selected various Jars from our shipments to keep on the Fabulous Kitchen Shelves but I am pretty sure I would have used all my Indulgence Tickets for a lifetime iff I had of purchased any of the Rare ones here. The Hoosier Jars also almost sucked me in but .................... * sigh* I was strong.

Back to Fabulous business and replenishing stock. We grabbed some stock jars ..... And it is pretty amazing that we have to import them to Australia and here they are laying about like apples fallen from a tree .......

Also grabbed some pretty fab vintage cigarette tins for The Shop which we will have for sale with us when we do the VIntage Fair on the 19th.

Mish and the owner kept asking me had I seen West End Salvage which is a show on here and I had to admit I had not. I had walked past this guy three times and he had said Hello and Howdy everytime so he must have thought I was a complete knob as I had no idea who he was.

I wandered back to The Shed and said to him:

" You are on a TV Show right?"

He laughed and told me about West End Salvage and what they do so I will be tuning in to check it out when we get home.

He is also a Priest ( damn iff we are not constantly seeing Messangers of God on this trip????) and then he said he had to have a hug with me ......... So we did.

He may well have thought I was a dumb Aussie with all my questions ........

He also gave me his autograph ..........

Good Times ......... Good times indeed.

We arrived safe and sound at Polk City Iowa and after some washing and general tidy up it was an early night for all.

Tomorrow is another day of Junk Shops and groceries ....... I Love grocery shopping in America!!!!!!!!

Revamp,Restore and Be Fabulous.

Budweiser

The morning dawned bright and clear and we started today's adventures with our customary free Drury On The Arch free breaky which is actually pretty good.

We had decided to tour an American Icon - Budweiser.

The Tour is free. Yep you read that correctly - Free. It was interesting and well worth the trip as the factory is amazing and wait till you see The Clydesdales.

I was stunned when we reached their Stable ..... no I should write "Stable" as quite frankly I would move in tomorrow. I stood open mouthed at the Chandelier hanging from the centre of the main room which has a matching one in a swish hotel in Texas????

Seriously???? Yes seriously.

These animals are MAGNIFICENT. To be a Budweisrer Clysdale they have to have 4 matching white sox, The blaze down their forehead, Black mane & tail  and be the same Bay colour. They are enormous and so quiet and gentle.

The Factory is immaculate and also has bloody great Chandeliers hanging INSIDE where the 7 step Brewing process is done.

You are given a sample to taste when you go through and then a glass of your choice of Beer or a soft drink at the completion.

Mr Fab was pretty darn impressed.

We then thought we better go to Grants Farm and see where they keep the baby Clydesdales.....

Again - I am moving in as they live pretty darn well.

 

Another brilliant day comes to an end with all of us tired but happy. See you soon Fabsters and remember ......

Revamp, Restore & Be Fabulous

Cardinal Nation

When we arrived last night we decided to go to Carmines for tea which was expensive but tasty. As we were leaving ..........Three Priests walked in to have their dinner. 

Mr Fab started chortling and said:

Mr Fab: Hey Babe - Three Priests walk in .... do you think they are looking for The Cardinals?

Me: *blink*

Mr Fab: *laughing himself silly*

(Pause here to note we saw a Nun at The Game ........ think maybe The Cardinals have some "extra special" help?)

Have to admit it was pretty funny. A whole lot funnier than when he said to the Security Lady patting me down:

Mr Fab: Hey I reckon I might need a pat down as well?

Security Lady: Sure thing Sir - Let me just find a nice big male to help you

Mr Fab: * blink*

Me & Nice Security Lady: *screaming laughing and rolling about on the terminal floor*

Enough of the shenanigans.

Ok so tonight was THE BALLGAME.

WOWSERS People. Seriously. I have NEVER experienced anything quite like it. There were so many people with most of them wearing Cardinals gear and they were all so darn POLITE??? I was stunned. From waiting to buy some of the massive amount of food & beverages available to entering the Ballpark. Everyone is courtous, polite and considerate of others. There is no line jumping, no rude behaviour ... nothing like that AT ALL.

Baseball has been a constant in America since forever and it is a HUGE part of everyday life. From families to the single diehard fan. They live and breathe their Baseball.

Then there is the atmosphere. A feeling of expectation that you can feel. The fans adore The Cardinals and to see over 42,000 happy people in one place is mind boggling. Keep in mind this was a Monday night - stormy and the game went past 11.00pm.  Packed to the limits with Fans.

We brought peanuts from vendors yelling : PEANUTS, COLD BEER, ICE COLD WATER................Just like in the movies and they even play that Baseball music. The funniest thing was the 7th Inning Stretch where everyone stands up and sings Take me out to The BallGame. ( I now know what Crackerjacks are). I have to ask Mish again what the teeny little balls of Icecream are .. Dippin Dots? I think? She asked the Vendor for a taste for me ... being Australian and all. It was the weirdest feeling to have tiny little balls of icecream in your mouth. 

Another new thing tried and tested.

It took me awhile to get how the whole thing worked but eventually I understood. The game was delayed due to storms so it did not actually start till 8pm. Rain fell and they stopped everything once but after the storm passed it was all good. 

I was starting to get a wee bit concerned as there had been NO RUNS at all and when that happens they keep going until runs are scored .......

The clock ticked over toward 11.00 pm .......

So 9 Innings and no score AT ALL. 

Finally we are at the bottom of the 9th and The Cardinals rose to the occasion and scored a home run.

The entire stadium ERUPTED. That is the only way to describe it ... literally ERUPTED. 

(I REALLY wanted to write ... Bottom of the 9th cose I KNOW what that means now)

All in all a serious Fabulous night out. Mr Fab was very happy indeed to have finally seen his Ballgame.

Tomorrow is The Budweiser Factory and then The Clysdales ......

Revamp, Restyle & Be Fabulous

Meet me in St Louis & Take me out to the Ballgame.

Morning Y'All!!!!

WHERE IS HENRY?????

*sigh*

The Cruise has ended and we are back on Dry Land. We LOVED The Cruise and are already thinking about where to go next time.

Mr Fab and I dont tend to go out or go away or really do anything except work and do things at home. We save and do without ... including birthdays and such to save for our trips. We like to go every two years ..... iff we can.

Hmmmmmm where to next time? Thinking maybe New York?

It is nice to simply dream and google and think about it .

*insert dreamy face*

So - back to this adventure. We departed using the Priority departure because of staying in a Suite and decided right here and now that we like being in a Suite with all the accoutrements that go with it. Now back to reality .........

We are staying in The Westin In Seattle till we fly out to St Louis tomorrow. We both REALLY like the Westin and apparently it is THE place to stay in Seattle and has bedded down Presidents for the night. The bed is AMAZING and we were so relaxed we had to call Mish and Mark and say HEY - we are going to simply have a night of doing nothing. We wondered ... perhaps it was all a wee bit anti climatic after the fun of the cruise? We both felt incredibly weary and just wanted to vege. Funny thing though ... I woke up at midnight bright as a button and could NOT get back to sleep.

As usual - we were in complete sync with our amazing friends so we will meet up again with them on Monday in St Louis where we will be going to our very first Baseball game. Yeeehawwwww GO CARDINALS. ( We barrack for the Cardinals )

Mr Fab has been looking forward to this for two years. He is SUPER excited. Tomorrow is a day of flying from Seattle to St Louis and we will not get in to The Drury till after 6 so I will make this one over two days.

The flight from Seattle on Alaska Airlines was 3 hours and 18 minutes and I am pleased overall with this airline but damn it I had the Knee Person behind me. You know the one who wiggles and sighs and moves for the entire 3 hours and 18 minutes? I tend to not say anything as I try to be a good person and understand that a person may be uncomfortable or not feel well but DAMN people ... after 2 hours of being kneed in the back and my seat moving I was starting to get a bit short tempered ...

I had my seat completely upright in an attempt to make it easier for her but still .......

*sigh*

Prior to Boarding we of course had to do the plethora of Security here in The States .... and understandably so. We tend to have a bland face and do what they say. I have to admit I had been chortling away and teasing Mr F as he was always going through the main security and my little face was getting me nicely through the normal easy peasy one ....... that is until Seattle.

Yep - You guessed it Fabsters .......... Full body search to pay me back for all my snickering. The lady was very nice and very clear about what she was going to do but it is very very ...... personal? 

*blink blink*

You will be happy to read Fabsters ..... I am not a threat to security.

We arrived and grabbed a cab to the hotel and were very grateful to finally settle down and relax. Today is going to be a day of just wandering around then taking in the Ballgame. It is quite interesting to be in this hotel as it is within one block of the stadium so it is FILLED with Cardinals Supporters alll wearing their shirts and caps ect so we will not stand out when we don our team gear and make our way down to watch the game. 

Every second store sells Cardinals gear and they live and breathe the team here.

We met up with Mish & Mark after a hearty free breaky here at The Drury and went down to Union Station to have a look.

Oh my goodness. We have had our very first vaguely scary encounter with the indiginous youth of the area.

The boys went to purchase tickets for the train and a group of ...... lads ...... came over and started to tell them how to buy a ticket. Mark has dealt with this kind of thing before so he was as cool as ice. Mish took my arm and led me away. I have learned to simply do what she tells me to do without question and automatically adopt a bland face and look at scenery type of persona? Do you get me? I tend to admire the buildings or trees or whatever is around. We always defer to Mark & Mish when they suggest something while we are wandering about. They will be exactly the same when they come to visit us in Australia. Our combined theory is ... Your Country - You know how it works.

Back to our encounter as you are probably all sitting on the edge of your seats!!!!! ..... I hope ......

 *cough* Where was I? Oh yes ... THE DRAMA!

Mr Fab handed me Marks parcels and simply said " Hold this".

He walked back and was standing very close to Mark ... *ahem* I should say Cool as Ice Mark .....

The Indiginous ... lad ... wearing his (Mish informed me) $150 jeans down past his bum with his dreadlocks and vaguely threatening manner kept asking for tips and money. The boys simply ignored him or said No.

I was very proud of them both. You could see Mr Fab on HIGH ALERT .........really really HIGH alert.

We walked down to catch the train all the time being very casual and laid back. An indian couple had been up at the ticket booth with us and you could clearly see they were a little afraid. I held out my hand to the woman and motioned to her to come over with us.

Well Fabsters I have NEVER seen people move so fast or look so incredibly grateful. Mish held out her hand as well and the woman actually took it and moved in very close to us.

The husband stood with the Boys and when the ...Indiginous ...lad ( The leader? ) came back to start saying things like:

"I may see you again you know"

or

" You could run in to me again"

All of us simply kept chatting only giving him a cursory look or acknowledgement. Apparently in a group you are not such an easy mark. Mish told me quietly not to make eye contact in any way.

It is quite clever really. A group of chaps in a not so good area who crowd you in and stand very close then ask for money after "showing" you how to buy a ticket in a machine that anyone could figure out in less than 3 minutes.

*shiver* 

Scary but very interesting to observe. I drive Mr Fab insane when I watch things like this intently.

After finishing our vaguely scary encounter which I was NOT allowed to discuss till we left the train we walked to The Arch.

WOW!

They have an amazing museum set up all about the west and how it was formed and the explorers who blazed the trail.

We then boarded these weird Pods which were elevators that went sideways and up to the top. They were very small and you kinda felt like you were expelled from them rather than leaving them? You then walk up some steps to the very top.

Mr Fab and I are absolutely certain the bloody thing was moving as we looked out of the tiny windows set into  the walls.

192 Metres in the air *gag*

Yep done that can we go now please?

Walked back down to Imo Pizza as we were all hungry and had what is apparently the best pizza in St Louis.

It was pretty bloody good let me tell you.

Ok guys ... gotta go don our Cardinals Gear and head on out to THE BALLGAME!

Revamp, Restyle & Be Fabulous.

All the way to Skagway!

Day 5:

Another glorious day in Alaska as we sail into Skagway. Todays adventures are the White Pass Railway & .......Suspension Bridge *shudder*

Gotta tell ya Fabsters .... feeling a tad nervous about the good ol Suspension Bridge. I am DETERMINED to do it. Overcoming fears blah blah blah testing one's self blah blah blah going the extra mile blah blah blah what doesnt kill you makes you stronger ..AGAIN blah blah.

UGH ... fingers crossed it doesnt kill me?

Right?

Ugh!

Ok so we take the bus to the railway yard to catch the old train up the White Pass to the Yukon over the Canadian Border. We had to take our passports and our train was boarded by Customs people for inspection before we were allowed into Canada.

It was a wild ride with some dark tunnels and some quite hairy views DOWN. I cant even begin to imagine what it must have been like 100 plus years ago when the men coming to the gold fields had to carry a Ton of supplies to see them through the winter.

Across the border into Canada and arrival at The Yukon Suspension Bridge. Mr Fab thought it was hilarious as I took one look and literally gulped.

HOWEVER ......... I was determined so onwards and across!!!!!

Of couuuuurse there is always some kid who's parents think he is so cute ...generally called Tarquin or something along those lines who thinks it is HILARIOUS to jump.

*sigh*

I did it. I have done it. No need to do it again. Nothing to see here .... moving on.

They had a very cool cabin set up as it would have been set up for a trapper back in the day which was interesting.

Back on the bus and a windy drive back down to Skagway. The four of us decided to walk part way back to the Ship and have a little look at the town of Skagway. It has a summer population of about 1500 and literally shuts down for winter with a population of about 800.

We talked about what it would have looked like 100 years ago and what this street would have been like with the mud and the snow ect. The boardwalks are literally Boards covering the walkways. Very touristy but fun!

Princess Nap time before heading out to The Chocolate Buffet where they apparently make EVERYTHING in chocolate????

My view this afternoon before we sailed was pretty darn hard to take .......

A relaxing evening with a scrumptious dinner in one of the normal dining rooms .... yeah yeah ya gotta show support ... then a pleasant walk back to the Suite.

Day 6: 

At sea. Arrggghhhhhhhh Me Hearties ...... Avast ye rambooking rumshots I be wearing me Piraty sailing suit. No landlubbing for this here bilgepumping sea dawg. There be no heave hoing over ye ballastrade. *All said in a Piraty voice*

*insert piraty wink*

We are rolling like a Jaffa down the movie aisle people but so far my tummy is staying perfectly fabulous. Cannot BEGIN to tell you how happy I am about that.

We decided this morning to opt for the Room Service Breakfast and while very nice? We prefer to go to Modernos .... our exclusive breakfast destination ... and partake of their buffet ...... As a do when in a Suite ....

Just sayin.

Oh I thought you might like to see the apparently BEST Choc or Candy Bar that thery have in Canada and is ONLY available in Canada and nowhere else in the world........

Now you have seen it. Tastes like Caramel and Chocolate and biscuite kinda sorta.

Also decided this morning as we are at Sea to go and check out the onboard Shop where you can purchase everything from a key chain to a $10,000 diamond ring. It is all quite bizarre. Grabbed a couple of Norwegian Cruise Line T shirts for Mr Fab and myself but sadly had to leave the diamonds behind. The crowds were feral as there were a squillion people all on board and the ship tossing about all over the place.

Dinner tonight is in the Garden Cafe Buffet which we like when there are not the aformentioned squillion people all deciding a Buffet is a GREAT idea.

Then on to one of the Shows in the Stardust Theatre. The Show was called La Cirque Bijou and was terrific! 

We will be spending the last day in Victoria Canada and do not get in till 2.30. We have opted to go with no Tours and just walk around and have a look! 

Have to show you the silly Towel Creations that greet us when we come into The Suite in the evening. David - our Room Attendant is hilarious. A huge Jamacian that sounds and looks like a huge Jamaican. 

We laughed out loud at the monkey because we walked in and were dissapointed that we couldnt find anything on the bed ....... then we looked up to find him hanging from the privacy curtains....

As ya do.

Revamp, Restore and Be Fabulous!