Roulette

 

Last night we walked the “strip” in blinding lights and music from all directions. Suddenly a volcano erupted from Casino Mirage and it all felt pretty surreal.
We continued to the Venetian Casino where they have canals with real gondolas and we were really impressed. It actually looked a bit like Venice. Theodor though who already has been to Italy and Venice didn’t seem that interested…

Then I did what I had promised. I went to the roulette table and put 4 dollars on no.7. No luck there so Rickyyyyyy you owe me :-)
Then I tried 4 dollars on every each no. No. 9 (Karolinas), no.11 (Amanda) and no. 27 (John Arne). Nothing worked so I left the table and went up to the hotel room where my family were waiting for me excited to know how I had played.

We cried ourselves to sleep last night… 

We are out gambling!

Rickard wants me to go for no. 7, Amanda wants no. 11 and John Arne wants no. 27. on the roulette so we'll try those three numbers tonight. You will get a report on how it went tomorrow.

The show on the strip

 

Karolina joining one of the shows in Las Vegas

When we left Arizona this morning it was cold and clear. It felt good coming out on those endless roads again with red cliffs popping up in the horizon. It was also exciting to drive towards a place you have heard so much of. Las Vegas, Nevada.

It is our first time in Vegas and I must say it reminds me of the Stena Line ferry between Gothenburg and Kiel. They do everything to get you onboard cheap (we only paid 42 USD for a nice hotel room) but while you are here they try to make you spend as much as possible. We are staying at the CircusCircus where there are loads of slot machines, roulette tables, a big theme park indoor, a circus, loads of restaurants and a couple of thousands of hotel rooms. Its a Circus!

Tomorrow we will try our luck at the machines and send you a report on how it went. We are staying here three nights. Which number should we go for?

"Sleep tight tonight your airforce is awake"

/Svante 

Another animal attack on the road!

Every time we make a video of the road (and it doesn't happen often) there are animals coming out in front of us. Last time it was a dog but this time we believe it was a possum or a small dinosaur or something like that. Anyone knows what it is? Now we are very worried what animal that might jump out next time we pick up our video camera.

After three relaxing and hot days by the pool in Phoenix, we today continued our trip. It was a beautiful drive through Sedona, AZ. Now we have checked into a motel in Williams in Northern Arizona and tomorrow we are driving to Las Vegas!!

Phoenix and beer!

 

Karolina and Theodor took a little swim today when we arrived at our hotel in Phoenix. Afterwards they both wanted beer so I drove away to a petrol station to get some.

Its the second time I try to buy beer on this trip and both times I have been asked to show my ID (you need to be 21 in order to buy beer in the US). I showed my Swedish driving licence with the EU symbol on it and smiled when I said I was 30. I gave her some dollars but the cashier refused! Our conversation starting with with the cashier:

- I cannot accept this ID card

- Why?

- Because I want to see your passport

- But I don't carry around my passport, do I look 21?

- I am sorry but you cannot buy beer here!

- OK, I'll put the beer back for you

I don't know why I said that last sentence but I did actually put the beer back and drove back to the hotel without beer.

Perhaps I was flattered by the age thing... :-) 

Theodor in Grand Canyon!

 
Today we took a little detour from Route 66 and went north to see Grand Canyon. Its a beautiful place and we wish we could have hiked down to Colorado River.

After seeing the Canyon we drove south to Flagstaff and looked for a place to stay. I went into the reception and asked for the price at Sleep Inn motel but was a bit dissapointed at the price. I told the receptionist I could find a better deal online and asked if they had wireless internet in the reception. They did so Karolina and I went went online in the lobby and booked the same motel but cheaper. It was quite funny to check in five minutes later with a booking reservation in our name.

Tomorrow we'll drive down to Phoenix where we will stay for a couple of days without any driving (except for crossing the street to the fast food chains). Its 30 degrees and sunny down there so we are looking forward to the swimming pool! 

Cruising around in New Mexico

We are in Arizona and drove through New Mexico today. We visited Sky City and you can see the surroundings on this video from the car.

Santa Fe, New Mexico via some dirt roads!

 

Today we hit the dirt roads on our way to Santa Fe. In some places its really hard finding the Old Route 66 (since its not a regular road anymore) and you have to spend some time finding the right way. Every time we see a petrol station we feel like filling up so that we don't get stuck in the middle of nowhere.

It felt great arriving in Santa Fe (2200m above see level). No fast food chains (I must admit I miss that a little though) and a real down town where you actually can walk around. We had trouble finding a place to stay since everything is very expensive but finally we found a bed and breakfast which is lovely. Today is my dads birthday! Grattis på födelsedagen pappa! Jag ringer på Skypen kl. 15:00 svensk tid så ha på datorn. 

The Big Texan Steak!

We have arrived in Tucumcari, New Mexico. The landscape changed rapidly when we crossed the border from Texas into New Mexico. Here the earth is very red and you see the mountains at the horizon. For lunch we stopped at “the Big Texan” where you get your meal for free if you eat a 2,2 kg steak + some side orders. We didn’t attempt to do it this time.
As soon as we get a better internet connection you will be able to see pictures of the steak and a snake that we passed on the road. We believe it was the worlds most dangerous snake in the whole universe and in New Mexico :-)

Excercise!

Since we are going to be driving for 31 days I thought it was a good idea to buy two step counters. Yesterday when we first used it we walked approximately 2500 steps. The step counter also told us that we had been in motion for only 10 minutes during the whole day!

Since we eat a lot of hamburgers along the way we need to change this habit so today we have both been running around the car and on the treadmill in the hotel. Now we are getting quite maniac about it and compete with each other, running around in the hotel room before going to bed.

Theodor had his first American meal today that we bought at Walmart so we probably need to get him a step counter as well.

I am writing this from Shamrock, Texas where we will stay for the night. This area is very flat with windmills and cowboys in cowboy hats. The earth is red and its getting warmer. 23 degrees today and the weather forecast looks good the coming week.


Svante running

Karolinas birthday!

This morning we woke up in Lebanon, Missouri to a special day. It was Karolinas 30th birthday! We checked out late and Karolina looked like a telephonist with her Skype headset over her head when she was talking to her family and friends.

We continued along Route 66 and stopped by to have lunch in a town called Carthage at the Carthage Deli, which serves sandwiches and milk shakes in a 1950s-style. They also have a soda fountain!

You can see some photos of the place if you click on the link to the right. We continued into Kansas and through some ghost towns before reaching Oklahoma. Our stop for the night is Stroud (in between Tulsa and Oklahoma City) where we just had a birthday dinner at a Route 66 relic restaurant built in 1939 out of paving stones from the original highway. After Theodor had fallen asleep in the motel we took his bed and put it in the car and drove him to the restaurant. He sleeps so well and we are really happy for that!

Here is a map of Route 66 so that you can follow us easier.

Mad dog

Today we were attacked by a mad dog! Before you start the video look at the black beast coming out in front of the van and then press play.

Tomorrow is Karolinas birthday and we will celebrate the morning here in Lebanon, Missouri before moving on toward Kansas. Karolinas family and friends, please be online on Skype between 13-17 Swedish time so that we can get in touch and sing some songs :-)

Susanna - Congratulations you are already 30 and Karolina is only 29 and K was born before you! At least for another 4,5 hours.

Our car

After some wishes from my mother and Mårten here it is! A Chevrolet Impala 06, 3.5L V6 with 211 hk. We filled her up today with petrol and it only cost us 28 USD approximately 210 SEK. Not bad!

The worlds longest pedestrian bridge

The Chain of Rocks bridge and Mississippi river



Today we arrived in St Louis, Missouri. On our way here we stopped at the Chain of Rocks bridge which today is closed for traffic except for bikes and pedestrians. They claim its the worlds longest pedestrian bridge... Karolina has found out that the Americans have the worlds longest, largest and the widest of everything. This morning on our hotel they served the "best cinnamon roll in the world". How do they know that? Apparantly Route 66 is the most famous route in the world according to our guide book.

Get your kicks on Route 66!

We are on the road and we are very excited!

This morning we got up early in order to fly to Chicago. It was another beautiful day in New York but it was going to be a stressy one. The air felt fresh and cold when we stepped outside the hotel. We went by taxi with an annoying taxi driver to Penn Station to catch a train to the airport but unfortunately we missed it because of all the traffic in Manhattan. The next train left in one hour and because our plane departured from a small airport (Mac Arthur) and its far away there were not many other options than to wait. We made it with a short notice and we felt relieved.

In Chicago we picked up our new home for the next 31 days. The first Teddy did was to throw up in it so now it smells like it should do. Yummy and sticky. At the Alamo parking lot we could choose which rental car we wanted and there were not only small intermediate cars (which we payed for) but bigger ones. Soon I will post a picture of it.

We just checked in at a hotel in Pontiac, Illinous where Route 66 passes through. I am so tired right now so there will be no picture posted today. Good night!

Teddy drinks coffee

We just had to post this funny video of Teddy when he wanted to drink Karolinas coffee (or was it tea?) on the plane. He does the same when Svante drinks beer...

Brunch in Soho

Idag mötte vi upp med Sandra och Fredrik på Baltahzar i Soho. Paret till höger har bott i New York det senaste året och trivs mycket bra. Paret till vänster är ute på långresa med en son som nästan rev ner hela duken inne på restaurangen. Ni ser på bilden hur Teddy är framme med fingrarna för att dra lite till i duken. Tack för sällskapet Sandra och Fredrik!

Resten av dagen tillbringade vi både på sightseeingbuss och till fots. På bussen släppte sig Teddy så pass mycket att en obehaglig stank spred sig i bussen och kommentarer hördes från medpassagerare. Pappa Svante tyckte inte om det och tryckte frenetiskt på stoppknappen i bussen för att få komma av.

Nu sover både Karolina och Theodor men snart skall de väckas för att gå på kvällspasset som består av Times Square i mörker och några hamburgare eller friterade bollar av något slag.

Time Square

We arrived late to JFK, New York on Thursday night.

The flight went well and we were lucky to get an own seat for Theodor on the plane where we could put his baby car seat.

The passengers sitting around us looked a bit worried when we came along with a crawler (who cannot crawl) on our arms but they didn't need to worry. Teddy slept most of the way and kept us up when we arrived instead.

When going through customs the queue was very, very long and we thought we were going to have to wait for ages. But luckily since we have little Theodor we didn't have to wait. A very nice lady helped us all away through immigration and even collected our bags.

A great travel tip for you all is to make babies and bring them along. Always first in line!

We changed hotels this morning and now we live on the 22nd floor on upper east side of Manhattan. Karolina thinks its like a movie here and we are part of the actors. In a half an hour we will meet up with an old friend to Svante and have a couple of drinks.

Hello Viktor see you in a few minutes!

Orkan petrol station

In Swedish and most probably in Icelandic the word "Orkan" means Hurricane. Today when everybody speaks about the green house effect and that it is caused by co2 emissions we found it a bit "funny" that a petrol station chose that name.

Well even though its a strange name we filled up our car at a Hurricane petrol station before leaving Iceland.

Last day in Iceland

View from the southwest peninsula of Iceland

Karolina in the blue lagoon
Karolina doing "lilla gubben"

Today we finally got some nice weather and now we have seen Iceland in another nicer perspective. We drove down the coast and saw big waves splashing in from America in the west. Then we went to the "blue lagoon" which is a man made lagoon but with natural water boiling up from earth. A nice way to relax before catching a plane. Tomorrow we will be in New York!

Jet-lag

We are having a jet-lag problem. Theodor wakes up at 5 a.m, two hours earlier than he usually does. Even though he stays up two hours later at night he wakes up like an alarm clock. Tomorrow we fly to New York where it will be another four hours time difference. I guess Theodor will have to bring us to the clubs next week. 

Tourist trap?

In some places it feels a bit funny being a tourist. You drive around to the same tourist attractions as everybody else and see the same Brits, Germans and Swedes as you saw on your last stop 33,5 minutes ago. At least the rental cars have differnt colours in Iceland. I remember when my brother David and I visited Belle-Ile, a small French island in the Biscaya, they only had dark blue Renault Twingo's for rent. At least we can find our red Toyota Yaris on the parking lot here in Iceland.

It has been an interesting day with waterfalls, craters and geysrar even though the rain has been pooring down.

You can see all the pictures we have taken if you click on the link to the right. 

Teddy at Stockholm/Arlanda!

Today is Theodors first day at work. We are now at Stockholm/Arlanda airport. The word Prao on his chest means "intern" or trainee for school kids. His new job is to pick countries. In three hours he will be in Iceland.

Our adventure is about to begin!

This weekend we are visiting Svantes mother and Ove at Selön near Stockholm. Jens and Susanne drove us here yesterday on their way to see their new dog. We have packed all our bags and we have been practising on how to carry them... Teddy has so many toys that he wanted to bring but we had to say no.

Around the world with Theodor

On October the 9th we are beginning our, Karolina and Svante's, honeymoon with Theodor "Teddy" who is 6 months old.

Our first stop is Iceland and then we continue to New York before driving Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. We will continue by car to Vancouver and then fly to Hanoi.
Our plan is to be back in Sweden on December the 6th.

We have created this blog in order for friends and family to follow our journey with envy :-)

Please join Svante's country competition on http://bengtsson.net/svante/index2.html