Trip to the USA

The 7th of July was our second anniversary of being in Canada and what did we do to celebrate? We went to America!

We still had our visa waiver form from April when we went across the border when my aunt and uncle visited so we decided to pop over before it expired. We decided to go to Syracuse to see the shopping mall there and to go down to Newburgh where the new Orange County Choppers retail outlet is. We visited their old location a couple of years ago but since then they had relocated to a new multi-million dollar location so thought we would take a look. For those not familiar with OCC they are featured on the show American Chopper and build custom bikes.

We travelled down to Syracuse on Monday and went to the Carousel mall. The journey took about 3 hours and was very pleasant. This is quite a large mall and had Macy’s, JC Penny and many other stores. It was also undergoing an extension so it will be interesting to see how it growns in months to come. We spend a few hours here and a few dollars on some clothing.

We then traveled to a place about 30 miles south of Syracuse – Cortland to stay in a hotel. We checked in and then later went out for a meal at a local Applebees. Then back to the hotel for the night. On Tuesday we travelled from the hotel to the OCC place which was about three hours away. The weather was great but lots of smog spoiled the views of the tree covered hills.

The OCC had lots of bikes on show – here are a few.

Web bike

The 9/11 fire fighters tribute bike

Make a Wish Foundation

Lugz bike (they make footware)

This is the exterior of the building – very impressive

After visiting OCC we then made our way back to the hotel via Middletown where there was another mall. We only spent a short time here, basically to get a coffee and snack before more traveling. Got back to the hotel, freshened up and then went out for a meal. Stayed overnight and then this morning traveled back home.

As we have traveled lots of times to America I was surprised how much we missed Canada whilst we were there. Little things like having a Tim Horton’s to visit (and knowing they are pretty much everywhere) rather than seeing endless McDonalds and similar signs. Also asking for a tea and getting tea rather than having to specify hot tea. Unless you do this in the US you get lemon tea – yuk! Also, when we travelled in some areas we did not feel altogether safe – certain neighborhoods felt a little scary. This is probably completely unjustified and I know there are places in Toronto I would not go, but we felt it more so in the USA.

It was a nice break, but we are glad to be home.

Tags: America Travel USA