Category: nature

B198 – I FEEL LIKE A TRUE AMERICAN

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So just got to our hotel in Tampa, Florida and the journey feels like its gone on forever, first we didnt have a pilot of the plane, no idea how that happens but it did. Im not going to moan about it thought, because now we are in Tampa and the car hire company have given us the one things I’ve always wanted. a proper american SUV, this thing is a beast. they have given us a GMC Yukon SLT, this thing is like a $60k monster. No idea why they looked at me and thought it would fine, but they did and Im happy about it.

Overall it feels quite good to be back in the south, I know Flordia is quite touristy but it doesn’t feel like that where we are, it feels like a cool part of the world, even though Ive only seen it in the dark. Tomorrow we have a day off, so im looking forward to explore this place, at the moment my main goal is to see a crocodile, like a proper wild one on the side of a river bank, but not sure if that will happen. the chances are ill just chill all day and try to burn of that ridiculous amount BBQ food I just eaten.

This is now like my sixth america state in the past 5 weeks and I really feel like I’m starting to understand a bit more about this place, it almost feels like I’ve completed america if that makes sense. every time I go to a new country I always want to feel some kind of connection to that place, and get the lingo along with the way of life. Im not sure if 5 or 6 weeks is enough time to feel like that, but with america I kind of feel like I’m starting to get the hang of the crazy country.

As today was just really like a travel day not many photos were taken but I did try and get out after dinner and do like a mini photo shoot with the SUV. and to be honest I think thee photo look pretty cool.

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– Would this SUV even fit on UK roads? –
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– I would love to drive round London in this –
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– flying to Newark airport to Tampa, literally spent the whole time just looking out the window, apart from when I was sleeping-  (only good thing about sitting at the back of the plane is that you can take good pictures) –

B194 – THIS PLACE IS SO CREAPY!

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Today we left New York and headed up state to New Jersey. We are here until Wednesday and its looking like its going to be a solid few days of filming, so when we arrived at our hotel it seemed only right to go out and explore, New Jersey is just like proper american forest’s, and as they are just approaching fall, its got that cool look in the trees. Well anyway on arrival into Murray Hill, New Providence, we hear of this place called the deserted village and who can turn down the opportunity of exploring some victorian era deserted village in the middle of a forest?

When we arrived at the entrance, which is in a place called Feltville, we could only find these weird creepy head stones, which seemed to date back to the revolutionary war in the 1700’s, the one closest to the front had the name Joseph Badgley and the other read William Willcooks. From what I can find online they were just foot soliders during this period and must of died in battle. After that little de-tour we decided to head deeper into the forest and see what else was hidden, about an hour into the walk, which ran through some proper forest and after getting back to my childhood of climbing trees and just exploring, we came across this white hut that sat on top of this ridge and realised we must of discovered one of the old houses.

We then found a whole bunch of this old white buildings which were once home to the 19 century newly found rich upper class, who would have owned these properties in a time known historically as the Gilded Age. One of the main things that attracted the utlra rich and quickly rising entrepreneurs of the middle class was the clean air which “didn’t have a hint of milaria”  something which was found throughout america cities.

I suppose its just one of the cool old places which has slowly become relevant to the moving times. but lucky the local government has decided to try and keep this story alive by giving it some protection for local property developers and inquisitive kids, or maybe the place is just properly haunted and everyone knows not to go near it.

Anyway heres my photos from today, enjoy.

And Happy Birthday Amy! sorry Im not there today! love ya mush!

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– two tombstones from the revolutionary war in the 1700’s –
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– this is something from a horror film –
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– Good bye New York. you are something else –

B190 – HOW HAVE I NOT DONE THIS YET

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Its been 190 days since I started this blog and I still cant believe this hasn’t come up before. Im talking about dedicating a post the Restaurant across the road La Forchetta, the place for food in East London and possibly London (bar charlotte street which is home to Siam central) has the best food. 

La Forchetta is on Bethnal green road just up by the Underground station and a stones throw away from Mcdonalds, if you can see Mcdonalds you can see La Forchetta. some people might think this is a biased opinion on my behalf but I can honestly say anyone who goes there would agree there pizza’s are the best and the service is up there too, not voodoo rays friendly where people just slag off politicians and talk about vintage markets, then charge you £4 a slice of pizza and a £1 for a pot of Ketchup. but La Forchetta is somewhere thats stood the test of time and proven that good food doesn’t have to be expensive, they even offer the occasional post dinner shot of Lemoncello.

The main waiter’s been there since I started going like 3 years ago and from what I can tell has been running the place ever since. He’s a pretty quite guy but always up for chucking a few jokes out there every now and again.

Living in London is a weird thing, before I moved here I didn’t think I would find an area and spend 99% of my time there, but thats not the case. when Im in London its almost like my life revolves around a 2 mile square radius  full of pubs, shops and things todo when Im bored and inside that radius is where I feel at home. Then I might travel to west London and that could be a different world for all I know, full of different shops and people. its definitely true what they say about people not leaving the area in London. from now on I’m going to make a more conscious decision to try and break that cycle and start seeing new parts of this city.

but for now, I’m packed and ready for my next destination, tomorrow morning I leave for New York. see you in 24 days London!

Anyway enough of the talking, heres some of the photos from today.

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– theres no pizza that can compete –

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– they even have a picture of the godfather up and an actual boat stuck on the wall –

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– these olives maybe from a local supermarket but that doesn’t matter –
 

B189 – ITS FINALLY HAPPENED A TRUE GAME CHANGER

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The Condo has hit a new level, If you’ve ever been to the flat you would know that theres been one big thing missing from it and that is Curtains, for some reason We’ve never got round to putting up curtains or blinds. Its not that we are lazy its that we haven’t really needed them and I’ve just kind of adapted to natural light in the morning. today though that has changed and my DIY skills have gone up a new level. Most people know that my DIY and manual labour skills are pretty much below average, well not any more, my first day of being 24 and Ive just used my first drill, and made multiple even level holes and put up blinds. this is well and truly a big step.

the DIY bug has hit me hard and now things are going to change round here. before it was all about the painting, now thats pretty much out the way, Ive now got to start building things, taking things away and updating things, its a never ending job that I’m now getting excited about. I just need to keep Amy away from Pinterest and I might have a chance of getting this done.

Now im pretty much a site man and a grafter, it was only right that after my success at putting the blinds up, i sat down and had a proper cup of tea, Bilbo ( bilbo Baggins – leave the bag in) with a lot of milk, the only difference being to take the photo I needed a a second pair of hands and a few pints of milk.

At last though, im now sitting on the sofa watching Tattoo fixers and dont have anything todo apart from right this post, tomorrow I pack for a trip to America so be prepared for some cool shots of the states, Ive got a busy 6 weeks of travel and Im looking forward to showing you guys what I get up too!

Im having a really weird moment where Ive confused myself because this post is written the night before its posted. is that confusing, would you rather I wrote in past tense or current tense. I dont mind just want to know what reads better.

Any way let me know and enjoy the snaps.

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– a proper cup of tea –
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– the bed room with the blinds, its finally coming a long, the white wall by the blinds is dirty because I was leaning on it. just ignore that –
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– this is amy sitting on the floor asking if we can stop running about doing things now –

 

B187 – ITS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR

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FIRSTLY ITS MY BIRTHDAY, POSSIBLY THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR EVERYONE. I have a few reasons for this, October babies are the best type of babies, mainly because summer is over, christmas is still that little bit far away and everyone needs something todo, so bam October birthday it is. The only thing is one of my good chums, possibly the top chum, benjamin Delany, the happiest, grumpy person on the planet is moving to Australia on Wednesday , so last night he stole my brithday and had leaving drinks, they were incredible and to be honest I’m not sure what happened, just know that head hurts and that I saw a whole lot of old friends.

The photo you see below is from when Ben and myself went to a concert at Twickenham, we were about 14 years old and had no idea what we were doing, turn out its 10 years later and we are still no closer to know what we are doing with ourself.

Much love Ben and have a good time down under. and never steel my birthday again. Im sure you’ll have a sick time.

Anyway I cant just post one photo and don’t want to waste too much time talking about Ben, so heres a few photos from my train journey yesterday. I was on the train Amy had fallen asleep and I realised I had played with my 5d in almost a week so, I was just have fun talking photos out the window and ended up with  these photos. After playing with a few lenses I have to say that for everyday “bloggin” the best lenses has to be the 24-105, it gives you a lot of focal length and to be honest, hasn’t let me down yet. When Im just walking around with my camera, the chances are ill have the settings on Auto, just as a safety, incase I miss something and this lenses always seems to get the focus right.

Anyway enjoy these photos and see ya later ben, don’t get too sun burnt.

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– ben and me 10 years ago –
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– running for the train –
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– I feel like most of my life is spent on transport –

B177 – A SEA PLANE

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Sorry for this post being a bit rubbish, Ive had a few drinks and just looking forward to gettign back to Amy. At the momement we’ve had a good explore of victoria and ive basically got to pack for my flight at 6am tomorrow. Candada has been amazing and I love this place but im looking forward to my sleep.

one thing ive learnt about this place is how freindly everyone is, they all just want to be freinds with the next person. im just walking out a oub while im writing this, so basically im in the perfect state to be wirtiing a message. people should come to canada and just experinance the wild, see the dear and take in the view.

tomorrow we fly home and I cant wait to spend the 19 hours travelling just to see amy, thank you bobo for introducing us, i think im abit drunk but not too sure. sorry for any messages that people don twant to read, I just want to buy a leica. anyway its not my fault, I blaime the people that brought me some shots.

im not sure how much you know about these post but each day I try and post something that relates to the readers, but tonight I have nothing. im just impressed with how this has gone and the people that our reading this. at the moment I think its mainly my dad, but much love steve spear your a ledgend.

im currently in bed lookingat my travel plains for tomorrow thinking about how im going to make it work. sorry if todays post is a bit weak, its been a hard month and tonight Ive enjoyed my self.

enjoy these pictures and make sure thar you visit chucky cheese, that place is amazing. much love josh

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– this is a sea plane –
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– i like this picture –
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– a nother great photo

B174 – I’VE NEVER SEEN THAT BEFORE

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I know Canada is this wild place but somethings I wont believe till I see them and wild deer and stags walking around the streets like some 13 year old are one of them. Just as we arrived at location this morning two deer have poked their heads out from behind a car and just casually started walking down the road.

I literally jumped up to grab the big lens but after a few seconds of trying to find it, I decided to settle for the 24-105. I never thought in a million years that these things would be roaming around the streets and not scared of humans or cars, over here they just don’t care. When you start the morning with seeing deer walk around the town you know its going to be a good day and to be honest it was, filming went smoothly and we managed to get back on schedule. its weird now becuase after this location its back to London and im starting to think of all the things ill do when I first get back to my flat and honestly I cant wait.

Amy if your reading this please make sure their is yorkshire gold tea bags and some fresh milk, I havent had a proper cup of tea in a month.

Next to location on the way back from grabbing some supplies this morning, I noticed this really cool foot bridge which looked like it went on for miles, so I decided to stop off quick and take some photos, when I got there it was like something out of a movie, these guys live on the river, but have done it in kind of pirate style, they have turned their boats into raft kind of thinks with other boats and have like this little community out on the lake. just floating around, unfortunatly I only had a 20mm prime with me so could get any close up shots but I still think I made it work. My plan is to wake up extra early tomorrow and go and get some early morning photos. lets see if that works out or if I snooze my alarm again.

heres my snaps, I uploaded 4 because I felt like it was a good idea.

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– this deer is Jay walking –
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– its so weird seeing them just walk round the streets –
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– canadian pirates –
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– this is that long foot bridge that goes on for miles (i think) –

B174 – AIR CANADA LOST OUR CAMERA GEAR

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I’m sat on the plane from Chicago to Vancouver, the TV’s don’t work and that’s something I hadn’t planed for, so now I’m trying to think of cool ideas instead of just looking at the head in front of me and listening to the only album I have on my phone.
One idea I came up with for today post, is to create an instagram story @joshfspear of some cool photos of my journey from Chicago airport to my hotel in Victoria, British Columbia. As today is literally just a travel day and nothing else, its hard to find cool stories and develop a meaning or idea behind the post, so I thought I would take you on the travel day with me and show you some of the cool things Ive seen along the way.

– Vancover to Victoria –

Air Canada have also lost some of our camera gear so its now looking like im going to be staying awake until it arrives sometime tonight. Apart from that, today has been a pretty good day and ended with us taking a small plane across the sailors sea from Vancouver to Sidney at golden hour which was unbelievable. I was speaking to a guy on the plane and he was talking about the food and wild life in this part of town so now im pretty excited to see what this place has to offer. that plane journey was one of those where I will look back in 10 years time and think how cool it was, from see where salt water meets fresh water to the barges pulling logs along the rivers to paper factories. it was all just like another world.

– the best flight I’ve been on in a long time –

We are only here for a few days but I will make those few days worth it. But we are now off to a flying start with a beer and pancakes from Dennys.

– I like this part of Canada already –

If you’ve got some time go and check out @joshfspear on instagram and have a look at my story of the trip, its got some pretty cool photos. I think I’m going to do more stuff like this and now I’ve done one the ideas are coming to me.

Im not sure if any of this makes any sense, Ive been awake for way to long and all over the place, but I hope you get the gist. I’ve been writing this as the days gone on.

B162 – New day, New state

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That us done with North Carolina, next stop St. Louis Missouri, im currently at the airport watching planes take off at Raleigh Airport with a beer and burger. tomorrow is our first proper no work day off since getting to this side of the world and I actually cant wait. There’s not a definite plan but I think a water park is on the cards.

I have to say that North Carolina has been interesting from their choice of food, its just steak and deep fried fresh asparagus to the amount of guns that everyone has. In the uk you think that people in America might own one or two guns, but everyone I have spoken to seems to have about 20!

I defintatly want to come back to this part of the world not to work and rush around but to just take photos and meet the people. Its one of the those places where everyone has so much to say and its pretty cool to hear peoples views. You can’t agree with everyone but you can hear him or her out. Then make your opinion. I think we could each other learn a lot from each other.

My last day here has been filled with Pancakes, Burgers, Fries and extra large coke. I’ve had a burger for lunch and dinner and now cant wait to find a gym tomorrow and cycle till I fill normal again, its fair to say I’ve eaten the southern way these past few days, and now I’m ready for something that’s been grown and put on my plate with out any sugar or preservatives.

Anyway onto to the next state, I have no idea what Missouri is like and really excited to have a day off there and explore the city. St Louis is meant to be amazing so im looking forward to getting there and not spending the day on a schedule or with a Peli case.

Thank you Goldsboro for the big plates of food and for make me appreciate organic vegetables.

Sorry for the lack in creative photos, today I was just trying to get through it in one piece.

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– the waffle house near downtown Goldsboro –
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– sitting at releigh airport waiting for my plane –
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– getting the back end of the storm over here, so pretty rainy and cold, St louis is meant to be a bit warmer I think –

 

B160 – A NUCLEAR BOMB

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Im currently in a town called Goldsboro in north Carolina, its this small town which falls under the wayne county, form in 1787 by William Whitefeild iii. to be honest this place has got a fair bit of history and something I think is pretty cool to know more about considering the fact that I’m staying here.

One cool fact about this place is todo with a battle that happened here in 1862 called the Battle of Goldborough Bridge. the whole reason for this battle was because both sides wanted to have the strategic possession for the rail road bridge, like a proper western movie. General John Foster turned up at the bridge with his troops on December the 17th, with the sole aim to destroy the position and put a holt to the enemies supply chain from the port of Wilmington. John Foster managed to complete this mission and burned down the bridge on the same day that they arrived, this really annoyed the confederate troops on the other side. they decided to attack General Foster and his troops on their way back to New Bern. which kind of failed because the confederate troops ended off with more causalities that John Fosters men.

Another interesting fact is that in 1961 two NUCLEAR bombs were dropped 12 miles from Goldsboro in the town of Faro, by accident when a B-52 bomber carrying two 3.8 Megaton Hydrogen bombs broke up mid air and went through several stages of detention, one bomb was discovered but the second bomb broke up and it is believed that a big part of Uranium is still in the swamp somewhere. Maybe thats the reason some swamp people have 6 toes and 7 fingers…

Anyway, heres some snaps from today, I really wanted to go with the black and white shots today and shot a normal neighbour in this part of the world.

I hope you like these snaps.

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– Goldsboro, North Carolina –
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– the Neighbourhood –
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– the front lawn –