Archive for September, 2009
Viva Las Vegas
Well I’m a little pissed right now, but I thought it would be the appropriate time to enlighten you all on my adventures in Vegas. Fairly fitting I figure seeing as pretty much everyone I saw in my time in Vegas was either drunk, or gambling and on their way to being drunk.
Vegas is a pretty amazing town. Sin City was founded in 1905, and officially became a city in 1911. It has pretty relaxed laws surrounding the various types of adult entertainment. I’ve had a bit of a crush on Vegas. Every film that it appears in as a major character has me entralled. One such film is Ocean’s Eleven. Yes, the 2001 film, not the original, because I think both Brad Pitt and George Clooney are awesome.
I think I probably would have had more fun, and more adventures in Vegas with a few mates, but I did get to see alot of the strip. I managed to see the major Casinos I wanted to, marvelling in the wonder of architecture that went into each and every one. I saw the Venetian’s Canals, the Luxors Pyramid, the MGM’s Lion and New York New York’s Coyote Ugly bar. I had drinks in pretty much every major Casino. I ate at restaurants and bars, and couldn’t get enough. One of the funniest things I encountered was the hawkers handing out prostitute trading cards. While I didn’t actually indulge in any of the girls I had first hand experience with one old dude in the elevator bringing a girl home (enough to put me off the Vegas girls forever), I did collect a heap of cards. Pictured here is but a small selection of the wad of cards lining my pockets after a short stroll down the strip. If the girls look half as good as they do in the their photos they would definitely be worth it.
I stayed in Hooters, which raised the eyebrows of a few of my mates, but if there is one thing that suprised the people around me that hadn’t been to a hooter’s before, its that the girls working in those slinky tops and orange shorts are beautiful ORIDINARY girls. One of the reasons I love hooters so much. None of this stuck up bullshit you get in nightclubs, just normal girls, each gorgeous in their own way, doing a job and loving it.
I’ve had a great time in Vegas, and right now my boarding call is being broadcast over the intercom. It makes me a little sad as I would have loved to spend more time here, especially with a few friends but I guess it will just have to wait until another time.
Oh and for those who have been listening to me whinge about internets, check out the rude internet connection available for free at the airport. I love Vegas.
The Rock
I was pretty excited to see Alcatraz and it didn’t disappoint. Sitting in the fog of the bay Alcatraz Island has had a long and interesting history. The limestone island was first used as the bedrock for a lighthouse, which is now the oldest lighthouse on the west coast and from there it has been a military installation, site of Indian rights protests and most (in)famously a prison.
Alcatraz’s prison history dates back to around 1861 where it was used a military prison. It quickly grew in population but it wasn’t until 1934 that the island became the Alcatraz we all know. It remained operation as a prison hosting some of the States most notorious criminals for 29 years.
Due to its geographics and the technology used in the prison Alcatraz was considered inescapable and it is easy to see why. The island sits tantalisingly close to the mainland but the water is freezing and currents churn the bay constantly. The buildings are imposing and there isn’t many places to hide outside the prison walls.
I spent around 3 hours on the island, listening to the audio tour and checking out the ruins of the prison. I took way too many photos but I loved the old run down buildings. There’s only one way to get to the island, Alcatraz Cruises. For $26 you get your ferry there and back, and the audio tour. My time on the Rock was worth every penny.
San Francisco
It is strange to think that San Francisco had a population of only 1,000 people when the gold rush hit. The search for riches caused the number of residents of the bay to swell quickly to 25,000 in just one year. It must have been a crazy time, how ever San Fran’s history stretches as far back as 3000BC when local Cali Indians once called the area home before being displaced in the 1700′s by the Spanish. Now home to around 800,000 in the metro and 8,000,000 in the surrounding ‘burbs San Fran is a buzzing city.
The entire metropolis is quite beautiful and new, mainly due to the great fire of 1906. Over four hundred thousand San Franciscan’s were left homeless after an earthquake levelled buildings and ruptured gas lines causing massive devastation. Today the town is full of life and history. Its famous trams rumble through the city and the streets are teaming with tourists. Along the port restaurants and museums line the piers. Out to the west in the suburbs is Haight Ashbury, a very alternative neighbourhood with a cool scene. Grungy, dirty bars and music stores run up and down the main street and bums and hippies sit on side walks calling for donations towards cannabis research.
On Sunday Chinatown hosted a party, filling the streets with parades, food and music. The Chinatown in San Francisco is one of the oldest in the entire USA and it is huge, but difficult to find nice cheaps eat’s in. A few bars are scattered through the streets of Chinatown, and around the city in general but the best I found was The Utah. It sits on the corner of 4th and Bryant and is a great venue with music almost every night and an awesome vibe. The locals are friendly and the bar staff fun and tough.
In the evenings the fog that during the day contains itself to the bay creeps into the city turning it into a frigid yet beautiful place. It wafts into the streets and blows a cooling breath over the entire metropolis. It is so thick you can feel it dusting your face with a light mist.
I got to catch up with a couple of mates in San Francisco. Jenn, who kindly put me up for a few nights and Emmett who took me around the city on Monday and to Fishermans wharf in the evening. I had a great time here and I’ll be back for one last drink before flying to Hawaii in about a week. But right now I am due to catch a flight to Vegas.
Golden Gate Bridge
It’s in that pea soup somewhere. You just gotta imagine it’s there. For all I know the cars were just falling off the edge into bay.
This was the best view I got of the famous Golden Gate Bridge that spans the opening of the San Francisco bay to the ocean. Its construction was finished in 1937 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world. The orange colour that I should have seen if there wasn’t the famous San Fran fog in the way was actually the original colour of the sealant, but it was decided that the bridge would look better staying orange rather than boring old steel grey and so a top coat of Internation Orange was applied.
I was really looking forward to seeing this landmark, but as luck would have it I didn’t get to. I went on a Sunday, catching the very easy 76 bus to Fort Point, and after being disappointed with the lack of view tried again the next day but the 76 doesn’t run so I had to change bus three times to get there just to be disappointed yet again.
Oh well, you win some, you lose some.
Greyhound
It is 2am. I’ve been on the Greyhound bus for 7 hours. The sound of the road peeling away under the wheels and the gentle rocking of a cabin should be lulling my senses into a blissful stupor but they bring no respite. I watch through my window into the clinging blackness and try to ignore the poster child schizophrenic that chose to sit next to me. He keeps yelling and yelping, one of three personalities at any time bursting forth onto the bus. Sometimes it’s the retarded boy, others the racist Southerner and when ever a sign came into resolve enough to be read: the educated Harvard scholar. If I am lucky I can catch them arguing between each other as their vessel jerked and roiled about in his seat. Their arguing continues through the night and punctuates the darkness. Around 5am he quietens a little, yet keeps snorting and fizzing and fidgeting. His odour has driven a few of my fellow passengers to move up into shared seats, foregoing their comfortable reclining positions for relief from the smell. I breathe through my teeth and count the hours, the minutes, the seconds until the next stop.
With the break of dawn comes an oasis of a gas station where we stop for food and drinks. My seat partner rises from his perch and lumbers down the isle, carrying with him his most valuable worldly possessions, 15 recycling containers. I stretch and am greeted by numerous faces that smile at me reassuringly and words of praise and amazement at my resolve. Only 13 more hours of travel face me but they lay stretched along the i5 through the new day. The terrain changes in hue and composition as we roll ceaselessly onwards into the morning. California opens before the bus welcoming me into it’s warm bosom. Mesas rise along the highway and farmland covered in dry grass surround the coach as we travel south in the morning sun.
While my strange friend has moved on he leaves a sinister stink he in his stead, standing sentry in the cabin like a ghost. I push my chin deeper into my chest and watch the white lines weave and duck back and forth along the asphalt. We’ll be coming up to San Francisco soon according to the woodsman that sits in the seat in front of me. I look out of my window and drink up the scenery. I gulp it up in an attempt to satisfy my excitement. A new city awaits just on the other side of the bay. A new city, with new sights, new people and hopefully new adventures.
Enforcers
It was a rainy day while I was in London that a post went up on the Penny Arcade website calling for volunteer submissions for “The Enforcers”. The Enforcers are the large group of people, clothed in black shirts that spot the Penny Arcade Expo generally being helpful and keeping everything running smoothly.
I knew of the group from discussions and news on the previous conventions and had always wondered if I could be part of something that seemed so cool. I applied for a job, not really thinking I would be accepted what being a travelling Australian and all. To my surprise soon I found an email from penny arcade in my inbox informing me of my acceptance to “The Black”. My life hasn’t been the same since
Being an Enforcer isn’t just a volunteer job. It is a way of life. Being surrounded by people who think, talk and act like you, all with an insane level of passion is intoxicating. Everyone is accepted. Parties are arranged on an almost weekly basis. Helping hands are offered to all those who have accepted the black. Being an Enforcer is about fun, games and friends. In the first two days of being in Seattle I attended two Enforcer gatherings, one specifically to welcome the 3 out of town enforcer Australians (and 3 local Aussies) at the Outback Steakhouse.
It is also about being some of the most professional mother fuckers around for the week of PAX. Exhibitors and staff of the convention were often amazed to find out that we don’t get paid for our work at the Expo. They were continually impressed by our expertise and professionalism. I explained to a few that asked me about it that I felt it came from a level of passion and dedication to the subject matter and organisers that you don’t normally see at most expos or jobs even.
I made more friends in my time in Seattle through the Enforcers than I have pretty much in my whole trip combined. At the moment my Enforcer badge is tucked neatly in my backpack, waiting to be hung somewhere safe at home to remind me of all those that made my time at PAX and in Seattle so wonderful.
SAX, bag stuffing fun
About a week before PAX is SAX. SAX is a day of bag stuffing, pizzas, introductions and hilarity.
This year the Enforcers banded together in production lines to stuff flyers, tshirts, buttons and other junk into over 20,000 swag bags to be handed out to attendees at the Expo. The stuffing started at 9am and didn’t finish until about 7pm, with only a small break in the middle which was staggered to allow people to grab some pizza.
While monotonous the activity was great fun and once your brain had fallen into a pattern of grab, stuff, pass it was easy to chat with those around you. Meeting so many new people all striving for a common goal was a great way to get to know the people I would be working with pretty much non stop for a week at the convention.
Next time you grab greedily at the bags handed to you at your next convention give a thought to the many hands that went into making sure you got all your stupid vouchers!
PAX 2009
I have been following the development of Penny Arcade Expo for many years. Created by Mike and Jerry from the webcomic Penny Arcade it is a convention by gamers, for gamers. This years convention, held between the 4th and 6th of September was attended by over 60,000 people making it their biggest yet.
Pretty much this whole adventure has been leading up to PAX. I mentioned it in the About the Odyssey section right at the start of the trip and have been excited about it since. I bought my pass well in advance, even before they were officially on sale and spent many hours reading and re-reading my ticket receipt, counting the days until I would be in Seattle and at the con.
I worked as an Enforcer (more on this later) at the Expo which gave me a great behind the scenes look at the whole convention from setup until tear down. I have never worked a more rewarding and exciting job. My main role was to be in Info Booth, helping attendees, VIPs and assorted other people who need help with what ever I could offer. We managed Lost and Found, handled checking in other Enforcers, gave advice where ever appropriate and generally looked after the welfare of the attendees.
I didn’t really see much of the convention per-se. I was working most of the time out of choice because I enjoyed it so much. I did wander about the convention a few times though talking to people and checking out new games. Brutal Legend looks great, as does Dantes Inferno, Diablo III and Star Craft II. I had a go on the PSPGo which was surprisingly light and looked at the new PS3 Slim, which is pretty much the same “size” as the PS3 Phat, just thinner. I helped Tim Schafer find his way to his booth, talked to people from Microsoft and Nintendo and oogled the gorgeous cosplayers that dotted the Expo Hall. I didn’t get a chance to check out any of the Panels, but I did say hello to Mike and Jerry, the former who I got a photo with at the after party. Jerry had a baby on the last day of PAX so there was no chance of seeing him at the after party. I really enjoyed the whole expo. The vibe that resonates through the whole place, emanating from attendees, exhibitors, speakers and staff alike is one of kinship and fun. Never have a I felt so at home at an event.
One of the funniest moments I experienced while in our little Info Booth bunker was being approached by an older lady who was trying to get in touch with her over excited 16 year old. The young man was supposed to contact his mother at 2pm but had been too busy / couldn’t be stuffed doing so and she was worried and came and saw us around 7pm. Unfortunately we explained to her, we had no way paging the centre, so she would just have to keep trying on his phone. As she turned away accepting her fate of waiting her phone rang and, answering it in front of us, she told us it was her son and proceeded to berate him down the phone. The first words out of her mouth were “YOU ARE SOOOO GROUNDED”. The whole booth started rolling around laughing and I grabbed a few sheets of paper and asked the lady to get him to come to the booth. This was the result when he walked around the corner. I have never seen a kid turn so red. Good times, good times.
Setup and tear down were real eye openers and in a moment of inspired genius while tearing apart left over swag bags we came up with the idea to collect up the LOTR:Online games and create a domino design. 3 hours and 1351 DVD cases later we came up with this.
Probably the best thing I take away from PAX is the great feeling of satisfaction I received in being part of something so great and all the friends I made along the way. I feel I have been truly accepted into “The Black” and I will be trying my damnedest to be back to help in 2010.
Also: Giant Connect Four FTW.
Seattle
People look at me strange sometimes when I say I love the states, but damn it: it’s true. I have had nothing but good experiences here. The people are lovely, and everyone that I have met from the states, save a few obnoxious hangover exacerbating types, have been great, honest, confident and friendly. So it was nice to step off the boat from Victoria to be greeted by Seattle on a warm October afternoon.
Seattle, home of Grunge music, dot com darlings Amazon, Boeing and other cool businesses, is a beautiful city. Teeming with life and coffee shops the city stretches out from the west coast, up and over it’s many hills. I am staying in Capital Hill, a pretty cool district with some interesting characters and great nightlife.
I haven’t done all that much exploring as yet, haven’t even checked out the Space Needle, but I plan to remedy this after Penny Arcade Expo is all done. I did get a moment to wander around downtown though, where I met some locals in a bar who graciously offered to take me bar hopping around the town. As it was midday this was great as I got to see and take note of some cool bars to check out later. I also had a bit of a gander at the famous Pike Place Markets, but I wasn’t in the mood to deal with crowds so I just stuck my head in for a bit of a sticky beak.
I got to go to “The Central” on my impromptu little tour. This bar is pretty famous for having rock 365 nights of the year and has played host to some of the greatest bands ever when they were just starting out. They also have some pretty awesome graffiti in the toilets. “The New Orleans” on the other hand had the creepiest graffiti in theirs, with thousands of little faces staring you down while trying to do a slash. Damn weird.
I am liking Seattle. I can’t wait to see more of the town.
Victoria
Back in January back in Sydney I met three very wonderful Canadians who were adventuring around the east coast. I chatted to Magena, Carlee and Kari often trying to learn what I could about Canada, knowing that in 8 months I would be seeing their homeland for myself. They convinced me that Victoria on Vancouver Island would be a great place to visit and I am glad I took their advice.
Vancouver Island lays off the west coast of mainland Canada. Getting there is pretty cheap and reasonably easy. I jumped on a bus from downtown Vancouver, then took a cheap yet HUGE ferry to the island. The cruise was fantastic, I am not sure how long it took in the end, I spent most of my time just watching the islands go by and enjoying the view. It could have been an hour, probably more, but I am not really sure.
After the enjoyable ferry ride I jumped on a bus to Victoria, where my hostel was located. Victoria is a beautiful little town, very cosmopolitan yet small enough that much of the city shuts down at night. As has become a bit of a feature of my trip I managed to time my visit at EXACTLY the wrong time, with the Victoria Fringe Theatre festival starting on the day I left the town.
The hostel was pretty good but not brilliant, luckily I didn’t spend too long within its walls. I met up with Emmet, a Californian I got to know in Vancouver and we hit up a local bar called Big Bad Johns. It was a cool little place with a great atmosphere. We downed a few beers there before heading back to the hostel. Back there we met Sarah from Quebec and chatted for a while.
The next day I headed out with Emmet, Sarah and her friend whom I forget the name of for a swim in the freezing waters off the coast. I couldn’t spend more than a few moments in the water before I was numb, but the sun was warm and it was nice to get out of the city for an afternoon. We grabbed some lunch and said farewell to Sarah who was headed back to Quebec that afternoon.
Now, remember those three Canadians? Luckily for me they were all back on Vancouver Island and invited me out for a drink to catch up. It was great to see someone you got to know 8 months ago again in their hometown on the opposite side of the world. It felt pretty surreal and it was nice to hear their stories of adventures from their travels. We had a drink in Sidney and the girls showed me around the small town. Magena gave me a lift back to my hostel, something I am very grateful for because the busses had stopped and my clipper to Seattle left early in the morning and I needed to pack.