Separated by Ocean - still a family

Once we arrived in Los Angeles and met up with Brian again, I told both brothers (Digi & Brian), no more tears at the next goodbye. I'm too old to bear another tearful parting. Compared to them I appeared as the cold hearted one. Five years earlier Digi protested tearfully while saying goodbye to his brother at LAX. He kept saying, "I don't understand why I have to leave my brother. Why mum?" With their father passed on just over a year, my heart was shredded listening to Digi's pleas and watching Brian trying to comfort his much younger brother.  (Brian is Digi's older brother from my late husband first marriage). So this time, the visit was much longer than previous one. Thankfully they had enough time be together and to argue around.  The goodbye later, though not easy.was much better,

Young Brian and 3 months old Digi
(Santa Rosa)

Brian and six years old Digi
(Disneyland)

11 years old Digi almost as tall as big brother Brian
(Digi then was my height, now am at his chin)

We stayed with Brian for almost three weeks before taking an overnight train to Albuquerque. While in LA, Digi and I spent our days walking around West Hollywood and to places that our feet could take us. We enjoyed our walk to the Hollywood walks of fame and later to the Los Angeles County Museum Of Art (LACMA), just South of West Hollywood for Tim Burton's Exhibition. In between we walked to the Farmer's Market, browsing shops and checking on parks. On weekends, Brain took us to downtown LA for the LA County Museum of Natural History and to the Electronic Entertainment Ezpo that Digi had wanted so much to attend. Of course being underage he can only see all the posters and billboards from outside the exhibition halls.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Street Art
(on the way to LACMA)

Tim Burton's hand works

This is the 3rd of our USA Natural History Museum
after  the one in Washington D.C. and  the other in New York.

Art work outside the LA County Museum
of Natural History

Gamer's destination

With some Costumed Battlefield Players
(Electronic Entertainment Ezpo. LA)

We close our LA visit with a trip to Venice beach looking for some sunshine. Nope. Even in June, on the day we got to the beach there was no sun. Brrr we did in our skimpy attires. But we made it - coast to coast USA: New York - LA. Also it was a fun day people watching at Venice Beach.

Gargoyles by the Venice beach.

Cold day at the beach

Brian's front porch

We also cook a lot at Brian's, encouraged by the close proximity to to Farmer Market and Whole Foods. Brian also had a wonderful selection of herbs in his garden, right in the middle of a busy West Hollywood neighborhood. But we had to continue on with our journey and goodbye it was to be. We will be back to LA of course. InsaAllah.

Alternative Foodie

Play by ear trip of Washington D.C.

The fact is, our entire six months trip had a play by ear approach for the day today activities, even the week to week. We had the Kuala Lumpur - Paris, London - Columbus - London, then Paris - Kuala Lumpur itinerary fixed prior to our departure from Kuala Lumpur, but the rest of our trip was planned on the go. More so of Washington D.C. It was planned for three full days, but we end up with only two full days, one rest day and one traveling day (to New York). I count traveling day for it can be the most happening of being on the road.

Fresh from watching Mr Smith Goes to Washington, we arrived at the Nation Capital a day late. Everything was fine except we traveled at night on the bus instead of getting our sleep in bed.  After a rest and a nap at the hotel, we went back to the city to begin our day one exploration. Mainly getting ourselves familiar with the train routes, as well planning our coming days. We then returned to the hotel for our luggage and went to look for our couchsurfer host house, Mr & Mrs G. Digi was thrilled to be walking on the street of Washington D.C. and actually going to be staying with two of its residents.  "Technically, we are to be neighbors with the President, mum." Alright, I guess it is clear that the White House was our 1st destination.

The President lives here , and we were then his new nosy neighbors.

Next was the case of having too many museums to see and having too little time at hand. Best method was probably by tossing a coin, in deciding the left or the right monument or museum to see. Digi had one museum he did not want to miss, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. And I wanted him to see the Smithsonian National Museums of Natural History. So that was how we spent our next two full days in the Nation Capital, circling the White House and checking what time permitted between the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol Hill. Still I've a feeling, we could had been here for a week or a month, and still have more to see.

At Lincoln's Feet

National Gallery of Art

Digi's way of looking at artifacts or art works of his choice is from every direction, and read its every description. Better still if he could touch, use or wear them. Constraint by time or by my tired legs I tend to give everything a glance here and there and move on, or sit down and just observe from my corner. Digi had no tired legs until bedtime. So to overcome our differences in observation methods and legs capacity, we followed a simple plan, he would take me to a wing (of a particular museum) and left me resting at the entrance (which usually has a seat or two), maybe reading a map or the museum's information pamphlets while he toured the wing by himself. Once that particular wing was done he picked me up like a parcel and dropped me at the next wing's entrance. Sometimes I followed him all the way, sometimes half way then returned to my designated entrance. Someday he is going to reminiscence on this as, "how I took my mum museum hopping."

Breakfast at Mr & Mrs G

Washington D.C is definitely on our list to visit again. I'm attracted to the people, felt like every nation on earth  has a representative in the city. The grocery not too far from our host's house sells everything, including whole coconut. And everyone are taking public transports. This is almost opposite of Columbus, that those who are taking public transports are the ones without their own. But in Washington D.C. our host Mr. G chose to cycle to work. I really like that.

Alternative Foodie

Out of Ohio

It is probably more apt to call this posting "Bound to Ohio" as it took us almost a day and a night to leave Ohio. Our first attempt failed big, as digital called it. It was already end of Spring and into May. We had gone to the Chocolate Factory, had a fun Easter, peeked into a couple of Museums, frequented the library, walked Columbus street, watched Scioto River flooded its bank as well visited COSI. It was time to go to another city - the Washington D.C.

The Chocolate Factory

Children playing while waiting to enter the Chocolate Factory
(and the mirrored wall)

Easter eggs of Wooster

Digital and big bird at Mike's parents'

Digital with Pat & MrP (Mike's parents)

Park by the Scioto River

Having fun at COSI

Columbus street

Scioto River (emptied into Ohio River,
that emptied into Mississippi River)

Santa Maria replica by the Scioto River

Columbus in Spring

Nice art on the street of Columbus

On the way to the Library

Kids corner

Right at home!

Our mode of transportation was to be the economically priced Mega Bus. Two seats were booked and paid for with good saving made. On the day of departure Mike drove us to Columbus downtown, heading to Nationwide and North High Street junction where the Mega Bus was to pick us up. That never happen.  All roads to High Street and Nationwide were blocked. A traffic officer directed us to a road paralleled to High Street, and as close to where the bus was going to pick us up. But he also told us no way a bus could enter Nationwide, not until the event of the day, which was a Cancer Walk concluded. Mike managed to drop us a block away from  the pick up place, and we walked to Nationwide - High Street junction. Not a single vehicle, just walkers, in the thousands and music. Wow, we had missed this event announcement from our Columbus calendar.

It was fun to watch the proceedings but also it was a very confusing time for us. We badly needed to get to our bus, that would take us to Pittsburgh for a connecting bus to Washington D.C. Another traffic officer managed to get us in contact with the Mega Bus costumer service. Mega Bus costumer service said they would call us back to let us know where we should go for the bus. Still in the noise and all the chaos the bus left without us. When I called Mega Bus again, they told me I did not answer their call that was supposed to tell us where to get the bus. I did not hear my phone rang, we must  had been right in the middle of all the people making their way on High street. I was heart broken. It took so much to arrange our trip to Washington DC and then New York. We had hosts waiting for us in both cities. Later I found out that another pick up place was at the Ohio Sate University, further North of the Columbus City. If I had known I would had gone there right away. On the street with no internet access - that was the hard reality we faced of being unwired in a wired world. For me that was Murphy Law at its best.

Merry walkers

Digi trying to shut out loud sound and music

Pink team

The crowd coming from North on High Street,
right at the Nationwide Junction

We finally called Mike (who had to leave to meet a friend in another part of the city) to tell him what happened. I just wanted to fly to DC. But Mike thought the Greyhound was probably a much cheaper option. We managed to get two greyhound bus seats that cost us USD 180,  that probably was just slightly cheaper than flight tickets. The original Mega Bus seats from Columbus to Washington DC was only USD 24 for both Digital and I. But instead of departing at 9.00 in the morning, we departed at 10 at night, and only arrived in Washington D.C. early morning, the next day.

Digi eating his breakfast out of Ziploc bag

We headed to our hotel for a short rest and to clean up after a night of bus ride. The hotel was booked because our Washington D.C host could only host us from the 2nd night onward. Funny how we planned life, and how life turned out.

Alternative Foodie.

Know-how to pioneer life in America

I don't know if Columbus actually learned the life of a pioneer, or that he was just too occupied with seamanship and finding reasons to tell the King and Queen of Spain, why he had no gold to bring home. I've to start making sure Digital wrote his history assignment correctly and not added his own stuffs.

"It is not Mayflower Digi. You are confusing the English Pilgrims with Columbus."
"Alright alright. I know he got three ships, Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria."

(I don't know if I should thank Google or not! )

Meanwhile, back in Columbus Ohio, being hosted by the head Cub himself, the first outing he took us was to the Boy Scout Annual Maple Syrup Festival, organised by the Simon Kenton Council, and held at Camp Lazaros, just North of Columbus. On the day of the festival, the weather was much warmer, full of sunshine and we had a great day.

This is almost like rubber tapping ...

History of maple syrup collection method

Makuk in Native American - mangkuk in Malay:
we are closely related even an ocean and a continent apart

There is a lot of fire power to turn maple sap to syrup

Senior Cub showing junior cub how to saw

BB shooting: Focus on target or no dinner of rabbit stew.

Do I have to, mum. Yup. Or you go hungry.

We got water to wash my hand: Lunch time next

No rabbit, just bean soup for lunch and fried bread for snack

Cinnamon sugar covered fried bread: The best!

Now we have learned some basic pioneer skills, I wondered if our host would expect us to find some maple trees in the wood and tap our own maple sap. Thankfully I did not see any woods stack anywhere close to the house (though there is a fireplace in the living room), or wood chopping would had been one of the chores. I thought we would just had to appease him with good bread.That would do.

Alternative Foodie

Home Away

Courtesy of a good friend, Mike, who rented an apartment for us, Columbus was our home base when we were in the USA. The apartment was set in a beautiful housing complex surounded by a city forest that show cased the best of the changing seasons of Ohio: Spring that was wintry in the beginning then turned gorgeous towards the end, followed by a very hot summer. There were days for catching up with school work and experimenting with food in the kitchen as well super nice for exploring the forest surrounding us and the city of Columbus. We also had days that were filled with storm warnings that got Digi panicking and made him camped inside the bathroom with his books. But otherwise the forest home was a place to rest, catch-up and recharge.

Snowed home

Real fluffy March snow for Digital to play with

Goodness, hailed in April

Spring on earth, winter came down from the sky

Then the forest slowly came alive

with white flowers

yellow flowers among new green leafs

Fast growing plants with purple flowers on the forest floor

Purple flowers  (close up)

Another flower: yellow orchid straight from the forest floor

Ducks in the pond

Green flowers hanging on branches

Spring in full bloom

 A dear came out from the forest ... probably it had smelled our dinner.

Think mid-summer foliage - just like the rain forest back home in Malaysia

Summer garden flowers

We will always have fond memories of our forest home in Columbus, Ohio.
Alternative Foodie