Chad Is Everywhere

Sightseeing on Oahu outside of Pearl Harbour Tantalus Lookout out to Diamond Head I just took the opportunity to visit my former flatmate in Hawaii for a week. So good to see her. A good opportunity to tick off visiting a friend using a single flight considering she had indicated intention to move back to the USA mainland. It was also so good to fly to a destination without switching flights. I never really connected that the USA can be just a 9 hour and 35 minute flight from Brisbane. I mean sure it's just Hawaii, not the mainland USA. But still it's the USA and the culture associated. I had been to Hawaii way back. Heck I had an issue with Hawaii. Last time we met at the end of 2006 I had my nose broken outside a nightclub. So I was under strict instructions not to do it again. Well that wouldn't be hard. I sure as heck think the guy who punched me those 12 years ago was a druggie and, at best moved on and grown up. More likely returned to the earth. But an...

Ask yourself If I were going around an art museum and I see an empty chair at the 'Ask Me' point what would I do? Damn right I'd take a seat and let people ask me questions. Heck it's no different to where-ever I am. People always ask me questions, and I'm always giving answers. They may not be right but they're still answers. As I figured, if they had of asked me something I didn't know, then I would have re-directed them to ask me about something about Sports. And if all else failed then they could of always asked another 2 questions. After all it was '3 for a dollar'. Truth though is that the above photo is staged. Not that it's half easy to guess. Still it made for a funny moment in the Chicago Art Museum.

There is not a better way than to lay on the beach to get over a horrendous bus ride. Miami, South Beach. Home to the rich and famous. And me too. Be it for only a few days. I had decided upon South Beach on the basis of there being no cheap accommodation in Memphis for the weekend with some big College Football tournament on. Yes there was a long bus ride getting to Miami, but in the end it was worth it. I had found white sand again. The only thing missing was waves. There ain't gonna be no surfing contest in Miami I can confirm. Aside from the beach Miami is well known for the Art Deco. A style to its own. This was different and enjoyable to see, but well it wasn't as profound as I thought it would be. Find of the first day had to be at lunch. The restaurant I stopped in at had a 'Grilled Dolphin Steak Sandwich'. Yes Dolphin my jaw dropped. Here I was thinking do I order 'Flipper' or not. Heck through all my university days when I worked at the resta...

New Orleans has always been a destination I've always wanted to get to. The whole Hurricane Katrina issue did originally put a halt on the idea of completing the idea on this trip. But then I got thinking that this would probably be my best chance. And I knew that the French Quarter, the main historical centre and party area of New Orleans, wasn't affected by the floods and storm surge. Getting to New Orleans has been an adventure. But the goal has been worth it. The French Quarter lived upto expectation. Although as a single traveler I didn't get into the drunken debauchery of Bourbon Street as much as others did. And before anyone asks no there was no flashing for beads done by anyone in the street. Although it could of happened I didn't see it. But anyway that partying on Bourbon Street is just a part of what makes New Orleans. What I was there for was the Jazz. And the history of it which is very interesting in itself. First day I arrived into New Orleans I ...

Hello from Seattle. Yes Seattle. For some of you this is a surprise. What is Chad doing in Seattle, its not a part of Canada. Yes true, Seattle is not a part of Canada. But Seattle is the reason I'm here. You see about a week ago I got onto a computer of a friend at Nakiska. While on the computer I decided to look at the NBA website. Ahead into the schedule of NBA games, and what did I see? An omen. First of Cleveland at Seattle on the 16th January, and then Milwaukee at Seattle on the 19th. This was enough for me to remember part of the reason I'm here is to see basketball. And who better to see than the number one player, LeBron James, and then number one Australian player Andrew Bogut. So after a short thinking period I decided it was time to leave the hill. I just had overnight in Calgary. Visited the Calgary Fort, and Calgary Tower. Other than that my first impression of Calgary is that it is a hole. Perhaps its good in the spring. Oh well to me it was just cold and...

I thought I'd update peoples with news on the broken nose. It's all but healed. Every day I find it harder and harder to successfully achieve the homeless look. The broken nose with black eyes gives one such a head start. Last week I went to the specialist here in Vancouver. They weren't so keen on re-fracturing the nose to re-align it. There was a 1/3 chance it'd be back to normal, a 1/3 chance there'd be only slight improvement, and a 1/3 chance of no change. The alignment is only slightly out up on the bridge. Now that the swelling has gone I can feel the difference. I'm left wondering whether it'll affect me during hayfever season. For the moment it just gives me a whole new point at which the glasses can sit. If I find it annoys me, or I have trouble breathing then I'm ok to go get it fixed while I'm here. But it can be fixed later. I'm not so keen on the alternative. That being to find a psycho with a right-hook to re-align it. Anyw...

Well the news is I'm in Vancouver. And with the arrival into Vancouver comes the good news I have better internet access to write to people. And more importantly ability to post photos of the trip so far. The first photo is that of Hananuma Bay. It's the prime snorkeling spot of Honolulu. A short 30 minute bus ride around from Waikiki. We visited here the day before I left. Yeah I snorkeled with the broken nose. It was only slightly uncomfortable to do so. There was no way I was letting the nose finish off my stay in Hawaii. The second photo is that of the Pearl Harbour memorial. The Americans have made the memorial a national park. Or well its run by the national parks service. Therefore its actually free. The memorial was a picture presentation and then boat ride out to the site where the Arizona sunk. All free. I like free. This was about an hour long bus ride out from Waikiki. Good for the fact it only cost $2 to get there. Bad for the fact it was an all stop...

This was the email I sent just after my being attacked in Hawaii. For all to read... ...................................... Hi all Thought I might just update everyone with news. I'm still in Hawaii. Leave tomorrow. Question for you all? What would you think I was doing Thursday night? If you answered, spent 4 hours in the emergency room of a Honolulu hospital then you'd be right. Why was I at the hospital? Well the story goes. Me and a few of the backpackers thought we'd go out that night. Started at a cocktail bar, moved to a another area of Honolulu. Things were going great. Well about 1am in the morning our unofficial group leader decided we had to move on as the club would be closing soon. So on the way out I decided to do the touristy thing and take a photo of the club we were at. Outside there was a big samoan bouncer, a id card checking girl, and some random guy standing there chatting up the girl. Anyway the girl decided to be funny an...

Well as I've only just started this blog let me first start with the trip in review. There was the Auckland stopover connection. After which I made it to Honolulu. For simplicity reasons I'm going to just post the original emails for people to read if they haven't already. Plus it'll help with continuity of the story so far. .................................. Thought I'd just send off a quick email to say hello from Hawaii. Today was a terribly stressful day. I got up about 9am. Walked along the waterfront for an hour or so. Did nothing for a bit more. Oh and then baked in the sun for a while. The beach is ok. Water was good. Although it is not a surf beach here. and tehre is coral beneath the foot. once you get out into the water. How does everyone else's day compare? Sadly though it hasn't been all beer and pretzels. I've had a set back. And I'm not happy. My Camera died. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH! Yes again. And yes it...