Day 4 Groton – Springfield

I was up a lot earlier today as I needed to be on the road by 8.30am at the latest. I was able to arrange to drop off the car at a Budget desk in a hotel in Springfield at no extra cost on top of dropping it back where I picked it up from.

Packed the luggage and was off right on 8.30am. Groton is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, and I visited the World War II National Submarine Memorial. (I later found out is one of two memorials to WW2 Submarines the other being in California on the west coast.) It is a good tribute to the lives lost.

From there I started off on my 2 hour drive stopping off at a Home Depot store to purchase a power tool battery for my brother. It is half the price to buying it in Australia. I also stopped at Target to get a carry bag for some items I had bought earlier.

Next stop was the hotel I will be in for the next week to check in and to drop off my luggage before returning the rental car. After getting everything up to my room I then took the car and filled it up before returning it to the rental company. The hotel was in a rough looking neighbourhood and I actually arranged for a taxi cab to get me back to the hotel.

Once back I caught up with two of the Canadian collectors who are good friends, Ed and Larry. They live in Vancouver. Also with some other USA collectors and then late Max and Ray from Australia. I walked around the local area a bit to get my bearings, stopping for some lunch and some milk for breakfast and snacks for the hotel room.

I then went up to the room and had an afternoon lap and also did some work on the computer. After which I found some of the collectors already had their rooms open to display they items they had for sale. I soon found some Guinness things to buy and also a few people gave me some things that they had saved for me.

It was time then for some dinner and I caught up with one of the Californian collectors I know and we had dinner in the Sports Bar in the hotel where we chatted with some other hotel quests for a couple of hours. By this time it was nearly 11pm so I went back to the room to check some emails and called it a night.

Day 3 Groton – Newport – Groton

Late start again, I am still trying to adjust the body clock to US time. Breakfast was the cereal I had bought at Wal-Mart yesterday and then I jumped into the car for the drive over to Newport, Rhode Island. It was only an hour fifteen minute drive across to Newport. That included a $4 bridge toll coming into Newport.

This is a pretty important place to Aussies as it is where we took the America's Cup yacht racing Trophy from the USA after a 132 year reign. Crossing the bridge gives a great view of the harbour and city area. It is one of the oldest towns in the USA being founded in 1637.

I parked in a back street near the centre of the town for free and walked the streets for a while. I stopped at the Fastnet Pub for a soft drink and they were showing the Wallabies V’s All Blacks game from Saturday in NZ. I already knew the score from the internet but the Kiwi bloke in the pub who was watching it did not. So I made sure I did not let on that I was from Australia. I also managed to pick up some Millers beer coasters from the pub.

From there I walked down past some historical buildings including the Colony House which was completed in 1739. It was used as the state house until 1901. It is now owned by the Newport Historical Society and is available for function bookings.

There is also a street of shops that I walked along and bought some small souvenirs’ and also a Guinness Ice Hockey jersey. I have seen them on eBay for over $100, I tried it on and it fitted so I bought it for $75.

From there I checked out a pub called Buskers Irish Pub in Thames Street. It was set out as a traditional Irish bar with all the signs and Irish memorabilia. I managed to get some new Heineken coasters off the barman.

I then went and got the car and drove to another section of the town to the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum. The first American Open Tennis Open for Men was held at the courts on the property in 1881 and continued until 1914. The old buildings are very well maintained.

In 1951 it became the home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. For many years they continued to play some Davis Cup at the courts. There is still an ATP tournament held there each year with Lleyton Hewitt being this year’s Runner-Up. I paid the $10 entry fee and walked around the facility. The building is set out into different areas for different periods of tennis and has a section dedicated to each Hall Of Fame Inductee.

Going back to the car I drove around the town to the harbour area and walked a section of the foreshore near the old fort. I even found a rugby ground in the area.

Going back to the centre of the town I visited one more Irish Pub called O’Briens Pub. It has a large beer garden and was packed on the Sunday afternoon. As it was getting late in the afternoon I thought I had better get back to the motel. So I headed back over the bridge out of Newport and stopped on the way to get some dinner and some fruit for later.

It was dark as I got back to Groton and I spent the evening downloading my photos, repacking and watching some T.V.

Day 2 Hartford – Groton

I really had a good 7 hours of sleep before heading down for breakfast at the hotel. It was a buffet style with some good food, plenty of cereal choices and some well cooked hot food. I fuelled up and went back to my room to check emails and write up my blog before repacking my luggage.

I had arranged to pick up the rental car at noon from Budget and was able to get the Hotel shuttle bus to drop me off at the rental facility. I was able to upgrade to the next sized car for only $5 per day, so I ended up with a Ford Fusion for $79 per day all inclusive.

I was on the road ten minutes later. I had bought a GPS unit in the USA on my trip last year and it was a great idea as the option for a GPS unit from the rental company is $ 11 per day. As per last year I set a course for the local Wal-Mart store and picked up some food and drinks plus bought a few shirts and a hat.

From there I headed south into Connecticut and drove through Hartford and headed along the route 2 eastwards towards Norwich. I stopped along the way and had a break before setting course for the Mohegan Sun casino. It is a Native Indian casino set alongside the Thames River in Connecticut.

The casino is actually separated into four casinos called Casino of the Earth, Casino of the Sky, Casino of the Wind and Sunrise Square. The first three of them symbolised different Indian Legends and the fourth Sunrise Square is set out in an Asian theme. In between these areas are various shopping areas, a concert and show arena and the actual hotel accommodation towers. There is plenty of walking to cover the whole area. I sat at a Caribbean Stud poker table and played for a couple of hours before losing my buy in.

On the way out of the casino I stopped at one of the gift shops and picked up a pack of the playing cards used at the tables. Once they have been used the casino drills a hole through them and then sells them to the public. These cards have pictures of various Indian chiefs on all the picture cards.

It was only a twenty minute drive from there to the Foxwoods Casino which is also an Indian casino but is part of the large MGM group of casinos. This is spread over a bigger area than Mohegan Sun casino but is also split up into different buildings connected by interconnecting overhead walkways.

I looked at quite a few tables that were either $25 or $50 tables before finally finding a ‘Let It Ride’ poker table that was only $10 minimum bet. The table was quite fun with a lot of interesting people. I was once again going backwards with my betting and had just enough money left for one more bet so I placed it on all the points and did not look at my cards. I let it all go through to the turn over and the dealer turned over my three clubs, so I made a three card flush of my hole cards and when added to the other two cards the dealer had I also had two pair on the table.

That gave me a good amount of money to keep playing for a while longer and I had some more wins and about two hours later when I left I was up $350 for the day from both casino’s.

Leaving the casino to head for my accommodation in Groton the road was closed at a local bridge so there was a detour amongst some back roads winding through a very heavily wooded area. Finally I was back on the correct road and came to a Random Breath testing area. As I was pulling up in line the police waved my through as there was not enough room to safely pull in. I stopped and bought some dinner and then made my way to the hotel. I had booked in for two nights and will tomorrow drive over to Rhode Island and visit the city of Newport where the America’s Cup was run from for many years.

It did not take long to book into the hotel and I watched some television and read my book before heading off to bed.

Day 1 Sydney - Hartford

I had finished packing the previous night so I was able to do a load of washing and wash the dishes before it was time to leave for the airport.

I had packed my large suitcase, plus my carry on case which is similar to a pilot’s case with an extendable handle and wheels. I am also carrying my laptop bag which I can secure to the top of the pilot’s case for easy transport when I am wheeling my luggage.

This year I am also taking a parcel of posters and a metal sign that I need to post to another collector who last year gave me some wonderful Guinness posters from the Caribbean. He had taken them off power poles whilst on a holiday years ago. I had been slack in arranging my side of the deal and when I got it all together it was a large parcel that would have cost $140 to post to the USA. As it was only a flat pack parcel I thought I could get it onto the plane and then post it whilst in the USA.

My luggage and the parcel only came to a combined weight of 20.2kg so I knew I was o.k. to travel with them both.

We have a shuttle bus that I had rung a few days earlier to arrange a return trip to the airport. They pick up from your home and drop you back there after the trip. It is $110 return door to door which is a lot cheaper than two taxi trips.

I was the only person on the shuttle and it was an easy trip although it was peak hour in the morning when I was going to the airport.

At the airport I placed the parcel of posters into a Qantas plastic bag and lined up behind only one other person to get my boarding pass and check my luggage. The parcel of posters needed to be taken to the oversizes luggage check in which is at the far end of the terminal and I helped the porter tape it up and process it.

It was a quick trip through customs clearance and then I was up to the Qantas Lounge to hand in my day pass. There are two lounges, one for first class and the business class lounge that I was able to enter. I headed straight for the end of the lounge where there is a row of computers for everyone to use. I checked my emails and was not happy to see that the email I had sent from home before I left had not been sent.

I had sent an email to my friends in my address book that I was off overseas and gave them the address of this blog site so they could follow my travels if they were interested. As I was checking from my online host account I was unable to access it to try to resend it. So I will only be able to tell people about it after I return home. At least then they will be able to skip over the boring bits!!

After checking some web sites I was able to try out the food and beverages that were on offer. It was a brunch style set up at the time I was there so it was a selection of hot and cold side dishes and I added a couple of small bottles of water and sat down with the paper to enjoy the food. I then spent some time looking at the computer again before sitting for a while in the lounge and then it was time to board the flight.

When I booked my flights, Qantas has a service that for $20 you can pre book the seats you want on the plane. I was able to get a seat that I have had before. It is right at the back of the plane where the fuselage starts narrowing down. Instead of three seats on either side of the plane there is only two and the window seat has extra room where the third seat would have been. It allows you to stretch out a bit. I was on the right side of the plane. There are I think five rows of this set up.

The trick is to try to get the second of these rows. The front row still has three seats in front of it so you do get the space to the right but you do not get any extra leg room. The second row has approx. Two foot of room to the window to the right of it and you also get all the leg room to the right of the seat in front of you where the third seat would have been. You can also stand up in this area (although you are stooped over) to stretch your legs without having to disturb the person sitting next to you.

This was a bonus as the person I was sitting next to spent most of the 12 hour flight asleep. I got out twice to use the amenities but was also able to stand in that space to the right of my seat to stretch whenever I wanted to.

The normal airline food was on offer for both meals but the thing I liked was they came around twice during the flight and offered slices of pizza and twice more with a choice of ice cream or fruit.

During the flight I watched the new Aussie movie The Sapphires. It was a good film and also the American Reunion that is another sequel to American Pie movie. I was also able to get plenty of sleep, so arrived in Los Angeles pretty refreshed.

We landed just after 9.00am Friday morning LA time and there was no other planes landing at that time so it was a quick trip through immigration. Once again I was asked plenty of questions as to why I had a US visa and was not using the Visa waiver program. It was no hassle though and it was not long before I had my luggage but then had to wait about 15 minutes more for the over sized parcel to come out for pick up.

Another line up for custom clearance and I then had the long walk from Tom Bradley Terminal up to Terminal 1 where South West flies from. Luckily it was only 59 degrees and overcast so it was not to hot a walk. After I checked in for the flights I had two hours forty minutes before the flight, so I set about setting up my USA sim card in my phone.

Every year I get a sim card from Telestial.com which I have found to suit my needs. The card comes with both a US and a UK phone number so you can use it in either area. The card can be refilled with money and I have found that if there is any money left on the card when you come home it is held by the company and can be added to the new card next year.

I then got some food and sat at the gate lounge and waited for the boarding time. I sat reading a book I bought in Sydney at the airport. It is called - QF32. It is written by Richard De Crespigny who is the Qantas pilot who flew QF32 that left Singapore heading to Sydney that had an engine explode after it took off from Singapore. He and his crew managed to get the plane back to Singapore and land it without mishap. I am sure it will be an interesting read.

After getting onto the South West plane and getting set to take off we had an interesting event take place. We backed away from the ramp and someone on the plane complained that there was a kid with a balloon from Disneyland on the plane. He was worried that the balloon would break and it would damage the plane. The hostess said it would not be a problem by he was not satisfied and asked to speak to someone higher up the food chain.

Well they took the plane back to the terminal and then an engineer had to come onto the plane and tell the man it was O.K. and it would not damage the plane.

By the time all this happened it was nearly an hour late leaving. The connecting plane at Chicago had to wait 25 minutes for us. Got death stares from everyone on that plane as we got on. There were no problems with the second plane though it was late arriving in Hartford.

As it was 12.30am and there was no other people getting off planes it was quick to get the luggage and I phoned the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel I was booked into and their shuttle bus came and picked me up. I am staying with the same hotel group as I stayed at last year when I got off the plane at midnight in Covington Kentucky. I have found them to be a great hotel, with free WiFi and the best hotel beds I have ever slept in. The room was exactly the same design as last years as well. They also have 12 noon check out, which is really good as it was 2am by the time I had done some emails home and text my family that I had got to the other end of the days travel.

The time from leaving Sydney to getting to Hartford was 26 hours.

2012 USA Trip - The Introduction

It once again time for my now annual trip to the USA for the Beer Collectables Club of America’s Canvention. This year the show is in Springfield, Massachusetts, which is about 90 miles west of Boston in the New England region of north eastern USA.

Hopefully I will be better at writing about the whole trip as you will see below that I did not get the last day in England or the six days in Singapore done in the last overseas trip I did in 2011. It is a shorter trip so I should be able to get it all posted.

I will be joined at the show by seven other Australian collectors this year with four of them travelling with their partners. I have been putting together my trip since March and am only travelling for a quick trip this year. I will be flying out of Sydney and returning from the USA in 13 days.

I am flying Qantas in both directions for the international flights to help get my frequent flyer points up and also that I have two Qantas Club passes to use in their lounges that I get yearly as a bonus to my HSBC Qantas credit card.

My domestic flying inside the USA will be with Southwest Airlines. They fly into the nearest airport to Springfield, Bradley International at Hartford Connecticut, which is only 25 miles from Springfield. Southwest also provides two free pieces of luggage when you fly with them. The other main airlines charge for all luggage you put onto the plane.

I am flying on Friday the 24th of August to Los Angeles and then transferring to Southwest to fly to Hartford with a transfer via Chicago. This gives my two free days before heading to Springfield, so I am grabbing a hire car and driving through Connecticut visiting their two Indian Casinos on the Saturday. Then on the Sunday I am driving over into the state of Rhode Island.

I have seven nights in Springfield, which gives me some time to look at a couple of the local attractions and also plenty of time to catch up with my collecting friends before the show starts officially on the Thursday. Staying in town for a day after the show on the Sunday gives me a bit of time to relax for the day and then on the Monday I am flying direct to Las Vegas for 24 hours.

My main reason to visit Vegas is to get some more $5 casino chips from the new Casino’s and the renamed casinos that have opened since I was last in Vegas in 2009. Also I hope to catch up with a friend I met in Vegas on my second visit to Vegas in 2009.

Unfortunately I am only in Vegas for 24 hours and then I will be back to Los Angeles and onto a Qantas plane home. Hopefully I will have plenty to write about on this trip.