Virginia Beach: (27th/29th September)

Virginia Beach, doesn't it just sound like a great place? Well it is. I have been to Virginia Beach before because I have a lot of family that live there however this was a long time ago. Our whole plan for out time in Virginia Beach was to relax on a beach and not have to explore anything, after the amount of traveling we had done a break was needed. From the very moment we drove into my uncles estate we knew that this was going to be a good destination, it was so tranquil, peaceful and sunny! We arrived pretty late in the afternoon so we decided to just relax and I wanted to catch up with my family and boy did I know I was with family because the first thing my uncle wanted to do was show me his new house that is right on the beach, which by the way is one of the most beautiful houses I have ever seen. Then after seeing a bit of VB we headed home to see my auntie and out came the Chivas Regal, not long after that we headed down to a nice Indian restaurant and had a few more drinks. It was a great evening being around family and just reminiscing about old times.


The following morning we actually got to sleep in a bit because we knew all we were doing was sleeping on the beach. For this first time on this trip we got to have a real breakfast, Indian style with aloo parntha! I don't remember the last time I had this, seeing as my dad used to cook it every weekend it was a lovely treat. Seeing as we were full from breakfast we just decided to head straight to the beach and chill, so we did, we chilled on the beach all day and it was perfect. There was a nice breeze and the heat was great, the sea was very cool and not to cold to swim around in. Now the highlight of this day was when Audrey Battah showed up! I have not seen Audrey in almost 2 years and it was great seeing her, even though she did make us walk like 12 blocks to Planet Pizza which turned out to be 30 blocks away from where we were so we bailed on that idea and just had mexican. Now I know I had a great day because when we were eating our food we saw a message on the TV about a flash flood that was about to happen and I didn't even care.. We walked back towards our cars and the storm started, you could see the lightening for miles and we somehow didn't run into any rain until we were only a block away from the car park. However that one block of rain literally was like a shower but we all laughed and didn't even care! After getting back to my uncles house we cooked goat for 2 hours, just like old times. A great end to a great time in VB.

I really wish we didn't have to leave Virginia Beach, it was great being with family and it truly inspired me again. Now the long road to Orlando begins.

Washington DC: (24th/27th September)

Well Washington DC, the capital of the USA I am expecting a lot from you. After arriving at a really nice hotel that has an iHOP right inside the building, which we have 15% off because we are staying at the hotel, things are off to a great start. So we have a lot to do in our time in DC, there are a lot of tourist attractions and things we know we must see. Our first day we decided to see the Lincoln Memorial, the Reflecting Pool and a few museums. After paying an outrageous fare for the subway we ended up in the city and headed straight to the WWII memorial which is right next to the reflecting pool and close to the Lincoln memorial, the memorial is beautiful, there are fountains and the names of each state of the USA with a dedicated fountain and memorial. There are also a number of gold stars that are dictated to each 100 men that devoted their lives for their country, it was called 'The Price of Freedom' and it was beautiful. After this moment however is when things started going wrong in DC. First and not the least of all was the fact that the reflecting pool, the one thing that I couldn't wait to see and have a photo with was closed for refurbishments.. Closed. So all we could see was a huge ditch and a mound of dirt. I could not believe it, but either way the Lincoln memorial was pretty cool.

In the Smithsonian distract of the city there must be at least 6 different museums so we figure we would just go explore as they are all free which was pretty cool, so we went to the Natural History Museum and the Museum of Air and Space. Both museums had a lot to offer but the problem is that once you have seen one museum like this you have seen them all, there are only so many dinosaur bones and old space shuttles you can see. The thing about DC is everything is pretty spread out but you want to explore so when you walk everywhere it really takes a toll on your feet, we got to a point where we couldn't walk anymore so we chose to go home seeing as we knew we had one more day to see everything else. We only wanted to see the White House, the Spy Museum and the National Geographic Museum.

Well the final day in DC we had a few things to do so we got out pretty early to try and see it all. The first thing on the agenda was the White House and I have to say, what a huge disappointment.. I was sure that you could see it pretty well from what I have seen in photos and other such things, I was very wrong.. You can see a small segment of the White House and I can understand that you can't get near it for obvious reasons, but really you can't make a big deal out of it, its like saying oh hey there is this amazing diamond that is huge and just the most impressive thing you have ever seen, oh but you can't see it. After a disappointing life house we heading to the Natural Geographic museum which we knew couldn't be a disappointment, well turns out we were wrong. This isn't actually a museum as we originally were told, its  an exhibition were you can see photos of natural wonders which I bet are amazing, but there is no way I was paying $9 to see some paintings. It was all lying on the Spy Museum and to cut this story short it was average, when you first get in you have to learn this new identity and a few details about your character which was right up my ally, but they don't tell you that you only use these pieces of information one time and its not even mandatory!!



 Luckily DC did have one saving grace; Ben's Chili Bowl, they put chili on everything, hot dogs, french friend, burgers and the famous half smoke. Now the chili itself is amazing, I have never tasted such a perfect chili! I decided to get the half smoke and some chili cheese fries on the side, it was one of the best meals I have ever tasted in my life, thank the lord that this place existed otherwise I really don't know what I would say about DC that is positive other than having a discount at iHop. It wasn't all bad I guess, it was nice seeing a lot of the city I just expected a lot more.

I don't really want to talk anymore about DC, it was fun seeing a few things there but all in all for the capital of this amazing country, very disappointed.

Philadelphia: (22nd/24th September)

Well we were bound to come in contact with a little rain eventually, but I never expected the monsoon that we had to deal with in Philly. We only had one full day in the city and unfortunately we didn't particularly have a good day, the rain was unbelievable and even when we did try and go to the city, the rain was unbearable seeing as most of the things that there are to see in Philly are outside. Luckily though the Reading Terminal Market was all inside and this place is amazing, truly a place that everyone needs to go to. I have never see so many different varieties of foods and I can't actually describe all the smells, it was truly amazing. We saw a sandwich place on Man vs Food was DiNics Roast Pork and Beef and people kept saying how this once sandwich in particular was a challenge to Philly Cheesesteak, so we had to go try it. The sandwich is fresh break with a hand carved pork soaked in a special gravy, with sharp provolone  and a special kind of broccoli, we knew that we had arrived at the right place because there was at least a 10 minute line to just order the sandwiches, we had come this far though so we waited and well, the sandwich was amazing, so much flavor and the pork was so juicy it was mouth watering, the provolone kicked in though and it was a little sharp for me but a great sandwich none the less, but it does not match up to the cheesesteak!

After wondering around the market for a good hour we got to a point where we had seen every food they had to offer and had to face the music and go outside, to the rain. Hoping that the rain would have subsided after our little journey around the food market, we were disappointed when the rain was still pouring. Within the 5 seconds it took me to open the car door and get in, the door was covered in water. We decided to call it a day and just walk around the mall for a while and potentially see a movie, though it turns out the cinema wasn't showing Money Ball so we gave that a miss too. I did manage to get a Green Lantern bag and t-shirt which always brings a smile to my face.

After a whole day of rain we woke up knowing that we had to drive to Washington DC, however it was only a 2 hour drive so we decided to give the city one last chance. It was very cloudy and trying to rain, but luckily enough we managed to see a lot of the city without getting rained on! We saw the steps that Rocky ran up which actually had a great view of the city for the first time, seeing as both other times we tried to see the whole city at its fullest, we were denied by rain and fog! There is a lot of culture and artistic museums in Philly which all look fantastic, unfortunately we didn't have time to go in them as we had to get off and we still needed to eat a cheesesteak! After exploring as much as we could it was defiantly cheesesteak time and we had heard that Tony Luke's was the place to go and the second we arrived we believed that because the line was even bigger than that of DiNics. After a 15 minute wait we finally go our sandwiches and I must say, I have never ever tasted such a good cheesesteak. The best. 

Thank you Philly for your cheesesteaks, just keep hold of the rain! 

Pittsburgh: (20th/22nd September)

Destination number four; Pittsburgh. I knew that I would be seeing Matt Bright when I got here, so I was expecting a few drinks and a huge sandwich from Pramanti Bros. Also Pittsburgh is home of Iron City beer which is arguably one of the best beers on the planet! I had heard about Pramanti Bros from Man vs Food, they are known for their meal in a sandwich which if you haven't seen it is basically, a big fresh sandwich which has french fries, crunchy coleslaw and your choice of meats and cheeses all in one sandwich! I went with the pork and it did not disappoint. After the sandwich and a few Iron Cities the night started to pick up, Matt and I got to talking about acting and reminiscing about old times, we all went to a bar called No Excuses and 10 more beers and a shot of something I have never heard of before, we were all singing karaoke and having a great time! It was the perfect way to be introduced to Pittsburgh.

The next day was our first whole day in this city so we just wanted to go explore and see what was going on. We really had no idea what was around so we just took to the city with one this on our minds, Delucas Diner (they make the best looking pancakes I have ever seen in my life). So after waking up pretty late with a slight hangover we had pancakes on the brain and there was no stopping us getting them. We parked the car in down town Pittsburgh and figured we would just walk up to 21st street where the diner was, that way we could see the city, what a terrible idea. It was very hot and after walking 21 blocks we were sweating and just dying for a cold drink and a pancake, but alas we were denied. Delucas closes at 2.30 and it was 2.19 so they had already locked the door, needless to say Joe was furious and I certainly wasn't pleased but we made plans to just go the next morning before we head to Philadelphia, problem solved.



As for the city it was really nice, it reminded me a lot of Boston, it is very clean and peaceful. There was one part in particular that I really liked, it was basically a big glass castle looking building that had a small market in the center of it with a load of restaurants and shops it was very quaint, its just a few nice place to relax. The city is literally like an island, there are a ridiculous amount of bridges and its in the middle of a huge canyon it seems, Matts house was at the top of the mountain and the views were incredible. So it was our last night and Joe, Matt and I all went to a place called Quaker Steak and Lube which I know sounds a little odd but they had some of the best wings I have ever tasted in my life. We got to eat wings and watch the Penguins beat Detroit, it was a great end to a great trip. Well I say that without concluding truly, when we ended up finally eating at Delucas.. I ordered a pancake (which ended up being 2 layered in chocolate which 2 more pancakes on top of them) with 3 scoops of strawberry ice cream which all were covered in whip cream, finally topped with chocolate sauce spreading over everything. As you can see in the picture, it was a lot larger than I ever imagined, needless to say I finished. Truly the best breakfast I have ever had and only for $8.99.

It was great to see one of my best buds Matt and eat some of the best food I have ever had. I will defiantly be coming back to Pittsburgh.

Buffalo: (19th/20th September)

We always knew from the beginning that the drive to Buffalo from Boston was going to be one of the longest and most painful drives we had to face. Funnily enough it didn't turn out this way, we took the 90 Highway literally all the way. We didn't run into any traffic at all and made it to Buffalo in no time! We arrived pretty late and it was raining, the hotel was shit. One bed, some of the worst excuse for pillows I have ever seen but it was only for one night so we just sucked it up. We had dinner at a little restaurant that actually served some really good food, chicken pot pie was exactly what was needed.

After a rough nights sleep we got up early, missed breakfast which is always fun and just headed straight to Niagara falls, the only reason we journeyed to this desolate place! I have to say, seeing the falls again and the surrounding parks made the drive and the awful night all worth it. The air was so fresh, the park was kept so clean and it really wasn't that busy at all. We managed to get right to the front of the Maid of the Mist which got us a bit wet, but we had the best views of the falls. After our small voyage was over we decided to head straight out of there and down to Pittsburg to get a jump start on that city and see Matt Bright. The plan is to go to Pramanti Bros tonight which from what I have seen from man vs food looks amazing!

Thanks Buffalo the falls are truly spectacular.

Boston: (16th/19th September)

After one of the most tedious drives of all time we finally arrived in Boston, both of us tired after a 7 hour drive we just went straight to bed and made sure we woke up early for the first day in this city. Instead of driving all the way into Boston we drove to Riverside and took the subway, which was actually really fast. Funny thing happened on the train when the guy sat next to me decided to give up his seat for a pensioner which was very nice of him, but soon after I started to wonder if he was just trying to punish me for some reason. The old man decided it was comedy hour on the train and proceeded to tell me joke after joke and offer me his candy.. Now that I think about it, he seems like Mr. Herbert out of family guy!


The plan was to walk Freedom Trail and explore the Quincy Market. The trail actually took us right to the market which was pretty convient, I was really surprised how calm the city was especially after being in New York. The market is were things started picking up, there was some girls dance contest going on so you could hear the music from miles away! The market had a really cool vibe to it, there were magicians and dancers everywhere. Joe and I decided to eat at a place called Dicks which I have to say was one of the best eating experiences of my life. Our waitress had a DEA T-shirt on that stood for Drink Every Afternoon so we knew it was going to be a good meal straight away, I asked for a Bud Light but was told I couldn't have that for some reason and I had to be surprised by some local beer which was fine. So the waitress had taken full control and put the icing on the cake when she gave both me and Joe a huge hat made of paper and she wrote a little something on each of ours that we weren't supposed to read, mine said "I love Dick" and Joe's said "Ask me about my rash". Needless to say we got a lot of looks and smiles from the passing crowd as we were sat right by the entrance!


After some more strolling around we decided to go back to the park that we originally started at to just relax, we walked into a very different situation. It turns out that this day was a huge Hippie Hemp Festival, it was called the Boston Freedom Festival. It was literally like walking into a cloud of marijuana, the cops were just stood around because I don't think there was much they could do with a few thousand people smoking weed and jamming to the live music. It was insane and the people just kept coming for miles!


When we decided to leave we just headed back to the hotel but oh that wasn't such an easy task as we ended up riding the train past Fenway Park with all the Res Sox fans to the game. It was one of the busiest subway stations I have ever seen and it really made me want to go to the game! Well after a day that started out really peaceful and quiet, it ended up being one of the most crazy experiences of my life, I think it's fair to say that Boston has it all.


After a great night sleep in a real bed and not an air mattress which was really just a bit of a cushion on a wood floor, we woke up for our final day in Boston. When we got to Riverside station again a cop was blocking the way saying that the station was full, this sucked, but we thought lets just drive in. The drive in really wasn't that bad, we managed to park right by the New England Aquarium which is where we were heading that day. The Aquarium was pretty cool but it was a lot smaller than I imagined it, luckily enough there was plenty of entertainment from the Penguins, especially when one penguin was literally spanking another and when the penguin who was on the receiving end walked away, the first penguin just chased her ass down! Also we got to touch some Sting Rays which was an experience. We made out way over the water to the old naval yard and saw some of the old battle ships, we actually had to go through security to see the USS Constitution which I still can't understand, just incase someone wanted to high jack this old boat that has been docked for years? Who knows but it was cool to see. The day came to a close by watching the Emmys, all I wanted was for Jim Parsons to win Best Lead in a Comedy and he did! A great end to a great day.

It's been fun Boston, thanks for having us.

New York: (8th/16th September)

The start of the Road Trip began here in non other than New York City my home. Joe and I stayed with Connor Fudge, Jeff Davis, Danny Karapetian and Scott Kay in their amazing apartment, located at 20 Exchange Place. As to be expected the week was amazing, I can't imagine not having fun in that City. I got to revisit a lot of the tourist attractions because Joe hadn't seen any of it before. We didn't get to the apartment that late so we got pretty settled in. Jeff was the only person I hadn't seen yet and when he got home he had a whole load of cupcakes from Crumbs! It almost brought a tear to my eye.. Until I saw the one cupcake to rule all other cupcakes.. It was literally bigger than my head.. Literally. When everyone was home it was decided to hit Jeremy's Ale House for a while! We got our 32oz beers in and just had a few to catch up. A great way to be welcomed back to the city. Now it was time to start having some fun.


First up was Soho, which was a heep of fun although my bank account would surly disagree.. Non the less I got a load of new clothes and finally got my dream boots from Hugo Boss that I have been hunting down for as long as I can remember. I tried my best to show Joe how to spend money but I just seem to have a gift at persuading myself that items I like are worth buying. I also bought a really nice tie form Armani and a new shirt from H&M which made for a great outfit for our night out in Marquee! The night was great, I am surprised we managed to get us all in with a limited number of girls but somehow we pulled it off, my guess is because, as Danny said "We look like we belong on Wall Street" very accurate. Even though we may have looked like Men of Wall Street we certainly didn't have the money to party like them as a few of us found out when we ordered 3 Jager Bombs which cost $49!! Even though Jeff decided to leave and at one point Joe and Danny debated it, we had a great night when we all stayed out! Connor was all up in a young ladies business named Ariel I believe, I taught him well! I on the other hand managed to somehow managed to fly all the way here from London and met 2 English girls but hey what can you do! After it was all set and done we squeezed 5 of us in a cab and headed back to the apartment, I had to keep my head down all the way as there was an outrageous number of cops because it was September 11th the next day! A great end to a great night and day.


Thankfully one or two of the guys were not working pretty much every day so it meant we could all go out and explore the city together. Jeff, Danny, Joe and I all headed down to the Promenade on a slightly cooler day with some cloud cover for the first time this trip! It is honestly one of the most relaxing places in the world, just sitting in the park with one of the best ice creams you will ever eat, looking out to the city and relaxing. I know that everyone ate at Grimaldi's which is some of the best pizza in Brooklyn Heights, I was eating pizza but with Michaelan Moore in mid town which was great as I expected, we hadn't seen each other in a long time, (I saw Michaelan one more time with Erin Hansen in Brooklyn  we all went to a small little clam restaurant which had live jazz music, it was very quaint and the guy singing had so much soul it was unreal!). However we did have an adventurous night before Marquee, which started like this "lets go see Iain at his bar!", Central Bar in mid town. Seeing as Iain was behind the bar drinks came unbelievably cheap, it started out $10 for a pitcher of Bud Light. This was just between Danny, Joe and I at first as Jeff had gone to a comedy show and Connor was working. After a while Madelin Quezada showed up after trying to be a smart ass and say she wasn't coming! It was great to see her as it had been a while. By this point we had starting getting the Jager Bombs in, so it was a pitcher of Bud Light and 4 Jager Bombs for... $10. So yeah we all got pretty hammered, Mady left pretty late and we all stayed for a few more drinks to talk to Iain. We woke up the next morning at around 1ish all feeling pretty good!


The next big day we had was our visit to the High Line. It was one of the best days as we were all there! Lareina and Christine came along with Lareina's mum. However before this we all went to Starbucks to just grab a drink before we got started and well Jeff sure had a fun time. The story goes a little something like this, we all ordered our drinks and all got them pretty fast expect for Jeff, he had ordered some iced coffee with milk and sugar I believe. We are all waiting for Jeff to get his drink and we could see that there is a black iced coffee sat on the side and as Jeff grew inpatient he figured it was just his drink and he grabbed it, after fumbling with the milk for a while he finally got the milk flowing and it was at that exact moment that Jeffs name was called. As we all burst out laughing Jeff pushed the black coffee away he grabbed his drink and moved as fast as he could out of the door. The day started out with a big laugh and it continued that way all day! The High Line was beautiful, surrounded by great friends just walking along New York City from above in a park, what more can you want? Another crazy story of the day is when I decided to be a huge idiot and walk down 10th Av, right in the middle of the street of oncoming traffic just for part of the video log I am making! We spent the most of that day walking the High Line until we all sat down and decided what we would do that night, the plan quickly became going to Lareina's restaurant.


Seeing as we had all been going with the theme of looking classy we all went that direction again, looking very sharp. Ilili restaurant, a place I will never forget. The way the food was presented first of all was very classy and unique, the food itself was unreal. The starter was a bit adventurous for a few of us but we all seemed to enjoy it, the main courses however.. I think at one point each one of the 8 people at the table was in a state of denial to how tasty the food was! The other reason I will never forget that place is the bill! The food was amazing but we sure did pay for it, but hey we are on holiday! I did feel sorry for the guys though who weren't expecting that.. It was truly a great day and a great night. It always helps when you are surrounded by great people. We did have a similar night when we all just relaxed on the roof tops with the same group of people, literally just sitting up there talking and relaxing with a few beers. It was nice to be around people like me, people who just want to act. It is very hard when people don't understand what it is like to try and do what we do, it was nice to just with people who know what that feeling is like.


Our time in New York was coming to a close, on one of our last days Connor, Danny, Joe and I all headed up to 5th Av and Times Square for just a bit of shopping and tourism! We spent the whole day walking around, went in pretty much every store that we wanted to, saw a whole load of cloths that we all liked and some cloths that none of us could honestly believe existed.. In the Disel store they literally had cloths that looked like they had been made for homeless people. There was a T-shirt with holes that looked like burn marks and just one of the most hideous things I have ever seen being sold for $400!! After a whole load of 5th Av we ended up at Rockefeller Center, I haven't been there in a long time and it was Joe's first time there so we went to the top! Top of the Rock. It is beautiful up there, better than the Empire State in my opinion because you can see Central Park and you can just see more of the city without the view being obscured by fences! We could see Times Square from up there and decided to head that way, have a wonder around and then head home as we were all so tired anyway! We didn't really go inside too many shops there but we did go inside the M&M factory because I think it kind off blew Joe away. After a little while we headed to the comic book store, picked up a few items like my Flash T-shirt and headed home for what we thought was the final time.


So I always knew that we were leaving the city on the 16th of September and come Wednesday night we all went out for Buffalo Wild Wings to say our goodbyes, I had already seen pretty much everyone I needed to see with a few exceptions and Joe and I were ready to leave. We ventured into Brooklyn for dinner and I can easily say that everyone; Joe, Jeff, Connor, Danny, Scott and myself were all defeated by the wings.. Not one of us finished and we all looked like huge girls by the end of the meal, we each took a doggie bags and headed home. We were supposed to be seeing Lareina, Channing and Jophie that night but with a whole load of miss communication from everyone it fell through, plus I think we had all eaten so much we could barley walk. However after all the goodbyes and the final meal, it turned out that some idiot AKA, me.. Didn't even think to look what the date was and it was only the 14th! We had a whole day left!! Which was actually the happiest news because I wasn't ready to leave. To celebrate we hired the new X-men movie from the Blockbuster machine seeing as Jeff hadn't seen it which I couldn't believe. We all had a few beers and watched the movie to just have a relaxing night, seeing as we thought we had to leave the following day. Can't honestly believe that I made just a huge error, but oh well!

The sad thing is the next day flew by, me, Danny and Joe all went to the Pier and had some chinese and just had a walk around. We decided we would just relax seeing as all we did each day was walk and walk so we went home and watched Tron. Oh and we went back to the comic book store.. Yes this is probably the 4th time this week. When we got back Lareina had blessed us with her presence (joy..) because she was smart enough to get locked out of her apartment. (only kidding Lareina, love you :)) We had no plans for the night, just to hang out with each other and remanis on old times which is always a lot of fun. We ended up watching videos on Danny's laptop from first year, playing Call of Duty and eating Dominos pizza, which by the way was an insane deal, 2 pizzas 2 toppings for $5.99. The hell with that deal though I needed like 8 toppings.. Well this was really the end of our journey in New York as sad as it is to say. The next day we picked up the car, upgraded it for an extra $500 which made me want to vomit! Although the extra space is going to be needed! I drove us out of the city, what a load of fun that was it took almost 40 minutes to just drive a few blocks, I think I could have walked faster but thats the city for you! Saying goodbye for the last time was the hardest thing I had to do, it never gets any easier saying goodbye, not to my friends and not to my city. I said it once before and I will say it again now, the next time I get back to New York, I wont be leaving for a long long time.

Going to miss everyone of you in this photo. But I will see you all soon. Love you guys.