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I intend to continue this as a photo entry. The photos should be pretty much explanatory, except for those exciting details in between.

The journey continues. I guessed the figures provide enough explanation for how everyone felt after the walk. Interesting enough, this was not far away from the harbor. Perhaps, it really served as a cryptic message to remind all those on foot to seek for wheels instead. Regardless of the warning, the team managed to reach McDonalds for some rest (some fell asleep), breakfast and a place to clean up. It was a straight travel to Cedar Points from then onwards.

The rides there are scary; definitely not for the faint of heart. The Dragster is the ultimate thrill for a hair raising experience.

Another view from the go kart tracks. Surprisingly, I did quite (amazingly) well on the race court, overtaking and speeding off although I do not legally have the license to drive yet.

A view of another roller coaster from a high shot.

The ground at last. I wanted to go parasailing out there, but the flag was raise to indicate rough waves and all the water activities were canceled for the moment. How disappointing.

Snoopy on Ice. I really like this show. It was funny, relaxing, and down right comfortable in the theater. In fact, I like it so much that I went to watch the show twice. Truthfully, I was just seeking a place to sleep for a while. I was awake for quite some time since the early walk and my body just cannot cope with all the fun and excitement it can handle.

Extreme sport show. My personal favorite amidst the other attractions and rides. I even forgave the half an hour delay for their final show of the day. It was that good and the crowd were ecstatic in the end. I guessed that the crew wanted to give out something extra since it was the their last show of the day and it was spectacular. They changed most of their choreography since I also did catch part of their earlier show and it was just something special.

More night rides. My camera is starting to fail me at this time. It is not meant for night time shots and the results are grainy as the lights fade out.

What a way to end the trip. Another sunrise shot took from inside the train. It concludes my two nights one day of non stop excitement. I barely had enough sleep within the time period and most are dropping into a coma as the day ends. I believed that I stayed awake for the rest of the day after this and suffered terrible migraine in return. Oh well, there goes the consequences for trying to stick to no sleeping during the day.

(Sandusky, Ohio)

Walking from Sandusky station to Cedar Point is very very tiring. I think I was walking for a few hours when the moon is high up shining brightly only for it to be replaced by the faint hint of incoming sun rays. Our entourage finally stopped to witness sunrise at a harbor.

(Sandusky, Ohio)

The sunrise is amazing. On the other side of the harbor is Canada, and I’m witnessing the splendor of nature with a bunch of friends.

I meet a fisherman over there. I strike up a conversation with him as he was catching catfish.

(Sandusky, Ohio)

Turns out that he is fishing at the harbor because his boat was under repair. But life certainly seems good, he caught his first fish when I meet him and several more during our conversation. Cool breeze and beautiful scenery. I wouldn’t mind doing such thing once I’m retired.

And on to walk some more to my goal.

(Sandusky, Ohio)

It was a hastily made up decision, to have the thrill of a lifetime at Cedar Point. The idea was to have a trip with a bunch of friends, through bus and train, and plenty of walking distance.

Right after classes, I took the bus to train station. It was a pretty much uneventful ride, having to take a bus all the way to Toledo. I was trying to catch as much sleep as possible, anticipating the disruptive schedule I will have to get there.

(Toledo, Ohio)

We played poker in the train station to whilst the time away. I believe it was actually the highlight of the whole ride there.

(Chicago, Illinois)

My trip to Chicago started out with a mess. I woke up early in the dawn hoping to catch early transiting bus, which will eventually lead to the train station. However, the awaited bus never arrived. The winter was approaching record low temperature. Unable to continue waiting out in the cold, I phoned a cab to reach the train station only to discover my transport was delayed. Snow and ice covered the tracks and disrupt the schedule.

The few hours onbroad the train was spent in futile, but the scenery along the way potray the weather which will greet me along the way. Sadly, I wonder why I chosen this time to travel when weather forecast blurt out that this year winter is the coldest in a few decades and warnings of snow storm been plastered all over the tv screen.

(Chicago, Illinois)

Chicago was not the bustling city I thought of it to be. My arrival was greeted by smoke bellowing factories as well as blacken and soot covered buildings. Together with the dismal picture of naked trees and gloomy snow shower, it gives off an illusion of dark atmosphere, foreshadowing the collapsing industries in the city.

My first encounter here left a bad aftertaste when a lady misguided me into the wrong track and to purchase a wrong ticket as well. However, the eventually kindness of other Chicagoan I meet here lead me to the right place where I need to dash across stations, meet the harsh windy winter of Chicago, talk myself into exchanging my wrong purchase with the train conductor and stand waiting for the time to pass.

Traveling to Chicago literally took up the whole day, and I guess to round up my first day by shoving snow, drinking hot cocoa and having a little chocolate fondue in the end was not that bad at all.

US Embassy Logo (Courtesy of US Embassy)

I woke up very early in the morning trying to beat the KL traffic rush to reach the US Embassy in time for my visa. What amazed me was that even though I was an hour earlier than my appointment time, there is already a line of people waiting although their appointment time are later than mine.

I’m amazed by how the things inside the US Embassy works. They are very efficient yet, why is the waiting line so long? However, that which give me a good impression of US is the service they provide. The people at the counter is always the first line of defence for an organization. They set the first impression for the customers and should be ready with an answer for anything that may be thrown at them. The person at the counter should always be smilling and greet you with cheerfully.

Personally, I view my interviewer with a great first impression. Because someone up the line before me cannot communicate in English that well, she took the pain of trying to communicate in Chinese. Although the pronunciation is not that accurate, it’s a great job on her behalf.

I also meet a couple person from international school. Is it because of their education background that allows them to be more sociable and independent, or is it just a trait of a typical KL-ite?

After the interview, I wander all the way to KLCC. Claire, at least you are wrong on this. It is possible to travel to the US Embassy through public transport. All it takes is just to walk a bit further.

In KLCC, I saw a lot of students with their school uniform around. Some are following school tour, while others, just hanging around. An interesting sight I usually saw in shopping malls such as KLCC is that the foreign visitors and youths are the dominant sight in places like this, whereas the older generation are hardly in sight. A shopping mall is easiest place to notice a trend or behavior of the future generation because with the presense of such a large and specific population of youths.

True to my money-pinching nature, I didn’t buy anything from any of the shops again except for my lunch. Although I been going out the whole week, I didn’t have any material addition into my possession. The only thing which burns a hole in my pocket is the transportation cost. Perhaps, I should cut down on travelling to save cash. Then again, I’ll be going out again shortly to another shopping mall.