How To Do A Convicts Tour On The Cheap

On the tour I was labeled “The Seagull” by the tour manager because I was able to spend a little amount of money compared to everyone else. Here’s the tricks, and I don’t think they will be all that surprising:

1. Don’t drink – just leads to expensive shouts
2. Avoid the nightlife – not that hard for me, as I don’t like the music they play or the dimmed lighting. Some cost an arm and a leg to get into plus we had to rely on cabs sometimes, whose fares add up rapidly.
3. Make the most of a free feed – breakfast wasn’t always included in our hotels but when it was I loaded up which meant I didn’t need to buy lunch.
4. Make the most of buffets – for similar reasons to No 3. These are especially prevalent in Las Vegas and are affordable so load up
5. Stick to a budget – don’t carry all your cash at one time
6. Souvenirs – cheap and small ones are fine. They are easy to pack and probably more useful in the long run eg magnets, postcards, ornaments, casino chips, badges. Some of the best souvenirs are sometimes free from the motel eg pens, notepads and the key cards.

And I was still able to enjoy myself, despite the opinion of the tour manager.

L.A. To Finish

Our final destination before heading home was going to be a whirlwind one. Our flight being delayed for 2 hours did not help things bu at least I got to finish the book I’ve been trying to read for the past few months.

Upon arrival we were taken on a hasty tour around LA and the surrounding districts. We stopped off at Venice Beach for a quick walk up and down. Lots of little art stalls and people trying to get your money. The rest of the time we had to be satisfied with looking out the window of our bus.

We had all arranged to go to Universal Studios the next day. Think WB Movieworld on a surprisingly smaller scale and with less rides. Also with a lot of money spinning merchandise stalls and food stands.

I would recommend it for people with children, however it might turn out to be one expensive day.

Vegas, eh?

I am not a fan of casinos and not keen on the nightlife either. So what am I to do in Las Vegas? The thought of going to Vegas didn’t excite me nearly as much as the others in my tour group. The line ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’ to them meant they could party a lot harder than they had been already.

A casino is a casino to me, but I did manage to see them all while tagging along with a teammate that wanted to collect $1 chips from every decent casino on the strip.


Las Vegas is good for shows. There are so many quality productions going on at any one time. From Cirque de Soleil to Elton John, it is all here. I was torn between seeing Stomp for the third time or The Producers featuring Tony Danza. I chose Stomp and was still excited to see them do their thing and the show was different enough to make it very interesting.

Ended up getting tired of Vegas very quickly and was bereft of inspiration. Was looking forward to leaving.

Footy Comes First

Louisville is in the state of Kentucky and always stood out as a strange place to go to when telling people of my trip. Fair enough I guess when it is lumped in with the big names of New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.


But you would be surprised at the amount of stuff there is to do in Louisville. This is the home of most of the world’s best bourbons if that’s what you’re into. It’s also the home of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory and museum as well as The Muhammad Ali Centre. A full cabinet of brochures will show you so much other stuff to do in Louisville and all over Kentucky.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to do any of it as this visit was purely business. The business being the US Footy National Championships. It is a two-day carnival involving about 30 teams from all over the country as well as 4 women’s teams.

I could have bypassed some of the footy to explore the local attractions but I knew I wouldn’t be able to do them properly and spend a decent amount of time.

The Big Apple

New York was very productive as far as doing and seeing things were concerned. However there is so much to do and so much left undone.

Highlights

• New York Knicks preseason game at Madison Square Garden
• Being part of the live studio audience for the Late Show with David Letterman
• Visiting Ground zero – The tribute display as well as the ’10 House’, the first fire station to respond to 9/11
• Statue of Liberty
• The biggest Apple Store you will ever see

Still to do

• Yankees game – almost got there except the Yankees got knocked out of their finals series before we got to New York
• Broadway show – would have gotten lynched if I suggested Mary Poppins as an option. As it turned out I had to choose between Knicks or show. I chose the sport.
• Central Park – never had the chance to just walk around and check it out properly, perhaps something to do with a ladyfriend.

The Monument Capital

Give the USA some credit, they sure know how to build a monument. Washington DC is testament to that. You need all of one or two days to see them all properly, not forgetting all the great museums. Good thing is that the city has a hop on/hop off trolley service that are very efficient and tour right around all the main sights. After a day of checking out monuments you feel as if you have done the city properly. I compare it to Canberra, mainly federal buildings and monuments/memorials/museums except here they are bigger and more elaborate. Check out the photos of the Lincoln Memorial (bottom) and the Washington Monument (top) and you will understand.

Canada In A Flash

Unfortunately we were unable to do Toronto properly let alone the whole country. All I was able to see was whatever we passed in transit. The only things worthy of excitement on those trips were their big stadiums:

• Air Canada Centre - (Toronto Maple Leafs - Ice Hockey)
• Rogers Centre - (Toronto Blue Jays - Baseball, Toronto Argonauts - Football)
• BMC Stadium - (Toronto FC - Soccer)

We were able to check out Niagara Falls and like any natural wonder the magnitude of the place blows your mind away.

Up the hill from the falls was a place called Clifton Hill which is the most ridiculous place on earth. It is a starnge place where nothing exists in relation to the falls. It's all a blatent marketing ploy to score off the population being there for the fall. You will find things such as:

• Arcade games
• Wax museums
• WWF Store
• Themed Restaurants
• Sky wheel
• Putt putt
• Souvenir stores

So go for the fall and ignore the rest, if you know what's good for you.

Pre Convicts USA/Canada Tour

I am going OS for the next 3 weeks to spread the word of Aussie Rules Internationally. World Footy News has alerted the locals to our arrival and our matches against the Canadian Northwind and the USA Revolution.

Our match is particularly exciting as we will feature on the same day as their national titles, that’s right kids, USA has a national competition for Aussie Rules. As well as that we have heard that legendary coach, Kevin Sheedy will be in attendance.

It is also an organised travel tour so apart from out football playing shenanigans we visit the cities of Toronto, New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas and Las Angeles. To stay up to date I will try and blog either on Hammertime or The Real Football or you can check out a general itinerary on The Convicts website.