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Miami, FL

RoadTrip up the Each Coast: 5,282km over 14 days:
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia , Maryland, Pensilvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey

RoadTrip from the West Coast to the East Coast: 12,232 kms over 33 days:
California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida

Some thoughts on our 17,514 kilometre journey through 30 of 50 States of MeriKa:
I remember the first few hours of being inside the land of liberty, bill of rights and opportunity: the United States of America. We had a rough introduction, to what I then thought, was the everyday American. The customs officials screamed at us for standing in the wrong line, followed by the train official screaming for sitting in the wrong seat. Needless to say, I was petrified of being in a country where, if I answered back to someone who had a gun, I may end up dead. Three months later we have had a completely different perception of this country and its people. I wrote about that because often when spending just a short time somewhere, stereotypical views or a simple cultural misunderstanding can occur.
A few months ago, I wrote that most Americans don’t travel outside their country. I thought they just didn’t want to see much outside their “world wide in America”. After travelling through more than half the states in the country, we have met hundreds of locals in motels, restaurants, bars, gas stations and coffee shops. Americans have an inquisitive nature. A few people per day would start a conversation with “I love your accent, where are you from, where are you going”. They were fascinated with the fact that we would drive across their country. These conversations helped us realise why only half of Americans have never traveled outside the U.S. Some haven’t left their state or neighbouring states. There is a nationwide expectation that a degree or higher education is essential for gaining a job. This is a huge difference from Australians who can get the same job without that piece of paper. Income inequality is also a major problem. The minimum wage in some states is as low as $7.25ph or $2.13ph for tipped employees. 1 in 6 or 49 million Americans suffer from hunger in someway. I wonder if these could be reasons why we have met hundreds of Australians throughout the world, but sadly only a handful of Americas. It certainly is not just because they don’t want to see more than their “world wide in America”.

*Favourite ****** restaurant brand: Denny’s because of their mac and cheese with steak deal or Waffle House! Dave’s was Pop Eyes or Taco Bell. I’m sure many Americans are cringing at us right now!
*Food we never want to eat again: Subway. December had $2 subs, January $2.5 subs and February $3 subs. Even with the monthly inflation, that’s a cheap lunch! You would be surprised with how many Subway workers don’t know what a tomato is, but do know what a tomateo is.

Over the last 3 months, we have had the opportunity to speak at great lengths with Americans about their culture and beliefs. We’ve heard from locals on both coasts, north and south, republican and democrats, inside the bible belt and out, from office workers to students and hippies to farmers. Other nationalities often refrain from tabu subjects but thankfully for us, no question was left unanswered. Politics isn’t something we talk much about in Australia and often Australian parties don’t have completely contrasting views. That is why we found chatting to the everyday American so interesting. A question that we have been frequently asked was our thoughts on America, Obama and the war. It’s a very individual thing and we couldn’t really answer for Australia (as one American doesn’t speak for their whole country) but we explained how our views have changed drastically since visiting war torn countries like Poland, Vietnam and Cambodia. Some Americans believe going to war was the countries biggest mistake, war for profit has cost the country greatly. Regardless, Americans are truly proud of their war veterans and their families and support them to the nth degree.
We also discussed the pros and cons of the healthcare reform (ObamaCare). This was something that shocked us the most with America. Anyone who has taken out travel insurance when visiting America will understand that the cost of healthcare and travel insurance is astronomical. For many Americans, the cost of healthcare is literally unaffordable. Many would prefer to cop the annual fine rather than put their details in a ‘hackable’ website. Without insurance however (which is now mandatory under ObamaCare) a trip to their local GP could cost $800 for flu meds or an overnight in hospital and a few stitches to the head is about $30,000. A few nights is $80,000. That is of course IF they pay it. It seems as though the hospitals are owned by corporations rather than ‘for the people’. The other major debate in this country are people’s views on gun law. After going shooting with the boys, and enjoying it, I see why they do it. I have also chatted to people from the other side of the fence (which I also agree with) who are passionate about getting rid of the right to bare arms. In the United States, there has been just over 40 school shootings or gun incidents over the last 12 months. Kids as young as 5 are now learning how to escape a school shooting. Someone we met said, in response to movie theatre shootings, bring your own gun to the movies and you’ll be fine. Majority of those with guns don’t cause harm. Meeting those that own and socially use guns drastically altered our view on it all. It’s not my country, therefore cant judge their way of life. I’m glad we don’t have to deal with these problems back home however.

*Weirdest thing on TV: every commercial that promotes health products comes with a disclaimer 2/3s the length of the promotion. Backache medication for example, can cause cancer, lung disease, fatal infections, heart future or fungal infections. With far more cons than pros, and a high chance of death, it always amused us listening to these adverts trying to sell something. Who would buy this stuff?

Over the hundreds of hours on the road, we have heard every song on the iPad, every Hamish and Andy pod cast, hours of audio books on Ric************, Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs and Robert Kiyosaki and countless hours of local radio. Most of them were country music. These many hours spent travelling from town to town, I have had time to reflect on changes in my mindset towards the little things. Little things that only a few months ago I was repulsed by. For example, I remember the very first meal we had in a hick town. I was disgusted with the fact some mid priced restaurants serve food with plastic cutlery and on polystyrene plates. Three months on, I’ve come to expect it. Every motel that includes breakfast, outside of cities, serves food on plastic and polystyrene, as so do some diners. We have stayed in over 50 low budget, dodgy motels. Although they aren’t the prettiest to look at, they are far more economical than the expensive brands. Free breakfast, free parking, free Internet and often free washing machine facilities were services we came to expect. We also remember drinking our first cup of American filtered coffee and wondering how we were going to mange 3months with this. Most places don’t have any alternates. Once repulsed by it, we now enjoy those bottomless $2 coffees. These reflections are so tiny in retrospect but a change of mindset really changed our attitude. In turn, we both really enjoyed our American RoadTrip.
Our last few nights in Miami we spent in a tent in a strangers back yard. At first I regretted booking this AirBnB accommodation option. Believe it or not, my mood reflected this. Ha Ha! Five tents in the back of someone’s backyard with hook up shower and toilet next to the chickens ‘could’ do that. As soon as I let my ‘snob guard’ down, I enjoyed it fa
r more than any hotel. With the right mindset, how could you not enjoy sitting around in deck chairs, drinking beer with likeminded travellers. This owner is a genius. He is making a mint by making people feel as if it was their home. The travellers love it because its not lonely as many days can be. The point is, it’s surprising how easy it is to revert back to judging a situation and first impressions.

*There are 1,500 online dating sites: eharmony is a thing of the past. America has hook up sites for: christians, farmers, mid aged and the well aged,Trekking enthusiasts, gothic match, and even people into their plant based diets! There really is no excuses for being single on Valentines day!

At the end of the RoadTrip across the states, Dave reviewed the map where we had been. He said you could tell where the Julia moments were. There are spikes in random directions. Dave did an amazing job driving, averaged 6-8hrs per day and for this we got to see so much. This way of travelling, has been very different to any other continent. Driving had its negative. Sometimes there was allot of nothing before seeing anything. But overall, it was the best way to see America and meet locals who made this trip what it was.
Continental America (exc. Hawaii and Alaska) is the same size as Australia. The biggest visible difference is the population. If everyone in the United States were in a line, that line would go around the world almost seven times. There are over 150,000 different last names and at least 5,000 different first names. Many come from other countries, and that is why the United States is called a “Melting Pot.” By bringing culture from other countries, the people have added to the richness and variety of this country. So much so, that Miami is made up of 100,000 hispanic, 100,00 cuban and only 45,000 white Americans. Finding english speakers in some of Maimi was very difficult. As a country as a whole, we noticed the difference from town to town, city to city. For example, the city folk in NYC are totally different to those in L.A. As are those in outback Texas, to the country bumpkins in Nashville. A few miles can feel like a different country, let alone just a different state. Overall the favourite state was California. It had it all: the weather, beaches, inland beauty, outdoor adventure and some great towns up the coast.
Geographically the United States offers mountains, plains, canyons, peninsulas and islands. There are lakes, rivers, waterfalls, caverns, plateaus, and salt flats and of course 19,200 KMs of coastline.
With nearly two months on the road, we have seen some of the United States, but nowhere near most of it. Over this time, my mind has gone through a complete transformation. Initial perceptions about America and its people have drastically changed. Quite often stereotypical views are created because of a lack of understanding. Once beliefs, views and cultures are understood, those initial views are nothing but an embarrassing mind shift. Our biggest take away of the last three months is how the locals from all walks of life, had welcomed us into their lives. To the American friends we met abroad and locally, thank you for sharing your part of America with us. You have shown us the true MeriKa! For that, we are forever grateful. It is no wonder America is such a patriotic country. If we lived here, for the most part, we’d be proud Americans too.

The United States encompasses the good and the bad, the crazy and the sane. It is like a giant tapestry that has woven into it the ideals, dreams, desires, and values of many citizens. Just about any word can fit on the list of words that describe the United States and all it contains. One thing is for sure, there is no stereotypical American!

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Key West, FL

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Huntsville, Canada

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Cincinnati, OH

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Nashville, TN

“Where y’all from?”
“Australia”
“You live in a trailer?”
We are in Mississippi. The southern accent seems to be the strongest in the country. Yet, if they misunderstood us, we must have strong accents too! We have just driven from Louisiana where they say, “thank God for Mississippi” as it makes every other state seem just that bit better. Apart from their hilarious accents, there isn’t much going for Mississippi. The rest of the country has accepted our drivers license as ID, but not in Mississippi. I asked security at the hotel casino where we were staying, why they didn’t. Their response was “we don’t get international visitors”. We must be the only two willing to sleep in a cheap hotel in the middle of nowhere for three days to save some money. Maybe it wasn’t so hard to believe that it was half the price of a campsite elsewhere.

The south is famous for fried chicken. What better place to try this 2,000 calorie meal than at “Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken diner”. Well, it certainly was an experience. The patrons and chefs were the height of basketball players but the width of extra large sumos. The southern accent was as thick as ever and it felt as though we were in a Forest Gump movie. It sounded like “Bubba” sitting at the table next to ours, when he said in a hardly recognisable accent: “My rich cousin drove 4 hours for fancy tomatoes and pheasants. I’d only do that for fried chicken”. He was in the right place. For $6, the plate was full of three large pieces of fried chicken, baked beans, white bread and SLAW. A combo to block the arteries and stretch the fat pants. We are beginning to really miss fresh fruit and vegetables. Apart from the fried chicken experience, the only thing going for Memphis, Tennessee was Graceland. We saw Elvis Presley’s house from the outside rather than paying a whopping $70 to enter. Meh! Unless you’re an Elvis fan, it’s just a big house on a ****** main road. Farewell to you, one horse Memphis town.

The everyday folk out in Nashville, Tennessee sound as if they jumped straight out of a country and western film clip. We attempted not to giggle at their accents. No other place in the world could a city get away with having their nightlife back to back with country music bars. The home of country, Nashville, sure can. Each bar down Broadway has live music with singers, singing about their truck, a girl, beer, blue jeans, losing a dog, but always, their truck! It was all knee slapping, boot scooting good. Our favourite was the band at ‘Honky Tonk’. After that ranch party in Tahoe, I don’t mind a bit of country music to get the foot tapping. It’s a good second best after Hanson anyway!

Why would you drive to Kentucky? Obviously for a $5 KFC Buffet! Wow, life is exciting for us right now… If we hadn’t of come, we wouldn’t have known that they don’t have those slightly yummy KFC chips, but instead have mac and cheese and baked beans as side orders. We had a much better reason for driving through Kentucky, to the state of Ohio. Our very first Intrepid trip, back in May, was to China. For those who remember, we met a lovely group of American zoologists who made our stay in China. Elizabeth, from Ohio, kept in contact with us over the last nine months. With only a few hours notice, Elizabeth kindly took us out for an amazing evening in Cincinnati, Ohio. Over a few too many glasses of wine, we chatted for many hours about travelling and life in general. Those ladies made that trip all those many months ago and Elizabeth made our stay in America’s midwest. It was so good to break up the travelling and spend time with a friendly local. The morning after that night of red wine, I swore I would never drink again. Quite obviously that ridiculous declaration wasn’t going to last very long. The free bourbon tastings at Kentucky’s Jim Bean distillery was enough to put me off again however. Twenty four types of bourbon, tasted like 24 varieties of petrol.

Our little 9 hour venture to Ohio took us up to one of the country’s most northern states. That venture meant the next day, we had to drive all the way back down to the southern state of Alabama. The few thousand religious signs indicated we had entered The Bible Belt of the south. Some of the signs were rather confronting. Others were light hearted and witty. Two of our favourites were:
– Going in the wrong direction? Jesus specialises in UTurns
– Today’s forecast: God reigns and the sun shines
We were back in the Deep South, not for fried chicken but to experience more of the southern culture. This can be quite difficult, as you can’t buy a cultural, non touristy, experience. It just happens. Most of the time, local interactions have been in local restaurants or bars, normally in smaller country towns. Finding an open restaurant in a small town, on the day of rest however proved rather difficult. We found one place open and it served their famous catfish. After Vietnam, I was worried that fried cats would actually be served. Dave reminded me that the south is famous for seafood, so we would be safe from a purring plate. All the food comes out fried. This sadly didn’t surprise us as nothing in the south is fresh. We found it hard to taste the difference between the fried shrimp, fried catfish, fried chicken, fried bread and fried potatoes, but we both enjoyed the experience all the same. Food is such a huge part of any culture. Our free appetiser should have come with instructions however. The table of 10 next to us, watched me figure out that the bowls full of uncooked chunks of onion and ‘slaw was to be placed inside the corn bread cake. It seemed slightly odd having a sandwich before a main meal. At least it wasn’t fried!
Our lack of local food knowledge at this restaurant wasn’t the only thing separating us from all those in their Sunday best. From the moment they said “come right on in”, we were treated like minor celebrities. Immediately, word got around that two Kiwi/Aussies were there. At first, like many Americans, they thought we were English. We overheard people saying “have you heard their accents, go over and listen to them”. We met dozens of waiters who had never heard accents like ours before, as in, not American. They wanted to know all about New Zealand and Australia. One asked why we were in Alabama. We said we had come to hear accents like theirs. Ironic, I know. Their accents were so strong that we had to lean in to understand what on earth they were saying. The manager sent one girl who had the strongest accent over to meet us. Her response to my question, why was her accent stronger than anyone else’s, was: “well ma’am, ma family must be more raaedneck.” Can’t argue with that!
As we sat in this restaurant, ate fried everything and were waited on by some of the country’s friendliest, this country song came over the radio:
“…that’s what I love about Sunday
Singing along to Amazin’ Grace, shaking the preachers hand.New believers gettin’ baptised
Mommas hand held up high. Havin’ a hallelujah good time.
That’s what I love about Sunday.
Going home to my blue jeans, havin’ some fried chicken and baked beans.
Cat-napping on the porch swing, doing nothing at all,
That’s what I love about Sunday”.
All of these little snipets of things we have eaten, seen, heard and especially the people we have met, will leave us with fond memories of the famous southern hospitality.

The week in the south warmed our hearts but it didn’t warm the waistline. One in five American’s are obese. I now understand why. In some states, fried everything seems to be the only option. The jiggling boobs and bouncing bums at Hooters in Florida was a great place to put the fried chicken days ‘behind’ us, literally. It’s hard to eat anything but salad when you have ladies in little knickers, unknowingly, inspiring what goes in the gob.
Thankfully, our last 8 hour drive was from Tampa, west cost of the Florida peninsula, down to the Florida Keys. It was also the last time our sat nav said “drive straight for the next 350km”. On the way we stopped in the Eve
rglades and went on those airboats. It’s kind of like a whitewater rafting boat but with a large propeller. The everglades is 1.5million acres of marshy land that is mostly under water and covered with tall grass. It was also full of alligators and birds that our airboat driver named Henry and Henrietta? When we got back to the land, I was first in line to hold a baby ‘gattor! He was a slimy sucker.
Back on track, we continued onto the Florida Keys, a stretch of 1,700 islands. The furtherest south is Key West and marks the most southern tip of continental United States. Bridges and causeways link the 192km of islands together. The longest bridge, 7km long connected us to the island we stayed on. Accommodation prices along those islands are on par with New York City. The campsite prices weren’t much better but still within reach, so we booked two nights. Sadly, we didn’t realise that the campsite was covered in rocky gravel. This, and our 1cm thick yoga mats was not condusive to a good night sleep.
The following day we went for a swim in the Keys and a hunt for key lime pie (and yes, they fried it) but came back early because a storm randomly ripped through the Keys. We returned to a flooded tent. Without a word of a lie, we bucketed 5litres of water from the, not at all waterproof tent. Another thunderstorm was expected that evening. We dried out our bedding, put down the tent and relocated to the backseat of the car, for an evening tucked up in the boot. We paid a small fortune for that gravelly campsite, so by golly we were going to use it. If only as a car park! How dull would life be if we had of just paid to sleep in a comfy, dry, hotel.

Florida is not our favourite state, maybe even the least favourite. Some of it is very nice, but a huge proportion is very old and dirty. The drivers also are the worst in the country. Arriving back into Miami marked the end of our road tripping days. We had two nights to kill however before picking up our friends from the Miami airport and heading north for a week in Disneyland. Those two days happened to be when the whole of Florida jacked up the prices due to a Public Holiday. Camping, hostels, motels, AirBnB (a room in someone’s house) were all triple our budget. We ended up booking the most random accommodation to date, even more than sleeping in the car boot. For ‘only’ $50 per night, we rented a tent in someone’s backyard! When we arrived to this persons backyard, it was full of tents. In fact our arrival meant the owner had to buy another tent. At least with a new tent, it was waterproof. Five tents and five couples camping in a dodgy neighbourhood with a makeshift shower and bathroom facilities, next to the chickens. I have to say, it was all kinds of weird but it was an experience. The last experience, from our RoadTrip across America.

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New Orleans, LA

We met Nick Callais on the Intrepid tour in Vietnam. Over many 20c beers that week, he suggested we visit him while in New Orleans. Eight months later, we were in Nick’s home town watching a live NBA game with him. This was just one of the many awesome experiences and opportunities Nick gave us during our two day trip to New Orleans. Inside the NBA stadium, we all stood, the lights dimmed. In-training soldiers stood next to the basketball players and they, along with the stadium, sung the American national anthem. Regardless of whether it’s your country’s national anthem or not, standing with hand on heart along side a few thousand people was extremely moving. New Orleans’s Pelicans (former Charlotte Hornets) against the Chicago Bulls played an action packed game. 88-79 to the home team. An entertaining game, but just the start of our night out in New Orleans.

Am I getting old or was Bourbon Street too wild for me? New Orleans is the perfect cocktail for a great night out. A mixture filled to the brim with a hint of wild Las Vegas, a splash of of NYC culture and L.A style muddled in with it’s own southern cajun Spice. Whatever it was, I just wasn’t prepared for it. It was our first big outing since Dublin and sadly it only took TWO drinks before I asked the boys to deliver me home so they could stay out until 5am. In my defence, those two drinks tasted like juicy daiquiris. They were called Hand Grenades, had a strong kick and were served in large plastic grenade shaped vessels! Similar to Vegas, walking around with a drink of choice is legal on Bourbon Street. This concept made for an economical night out. I loved the ability to pay for a refill or walk into bars and enjoy the music without having to pay for a new drink each time. The takeaway drinks were from daiquiri bars, like in Vegas. In Bourbon Street, they expanded on that concept and added a one stop shop for other things like pizza or burgers or randomly, cigars. For the half of the night that I was out, I experienced nightlife like nowhere else. Im sure the boys experienced more in those following hours, but we can only guess! The street was jam packed with live jazz, folk like ‘Dan Dan The Shoeshine Man’ and the odd religious preacher with a 10ft cross. Of course, they were widely ignored but accepted, as were those dancing in the street. Some clubs had ladies dancing on platforms outside, some had Vegas style neon lighting and some jazz clubs were dark and dingy. Bourbon Street exceeded all expectations!

So you probably know, we aren’t the biggest ‘traditional museum’ fans, but when Nick said he was taking us to the National World War 2 museum, this intrigued us. Travelling has provided us with a better global perspective of war, including the impacts war has on a country, it’s people as well as freedom and hardships for present and future generations. Our visit to the Khmer Rouge killing fields in Cambodia, the Vietnam War Museum in Saigon and the Nazi concentration camps in Auschwitz, Poland has given us empathy for those who have sacrificed their lives for world peace and of the innocent lives lost to war. Visiting the National World War 2 Museum was the missing piece. America plays, and has played a huge part in wars, so it was important to visit a museum that explained ‘war’ from their perspective. This visit filled in the gaps and opened our eyes to the scale of a war that killed 65,000,000 people across the world. That figure is incomprehensible. Nick’s friend got us tickets to an amazing 4d WW2 movie directed and narrated by Tom Hanks and to an interactive experience inside a submarine while at war. Inside the sub, we were given a crew position then looked through the binoculars and went to war. It was a scary feeling being so involved. I’m not ‘for war’ by any means, but I do appreciate the fact that we live in a country free from war because of those that have sacrificed their lives. So many countries we have visited are not as fortunate.

You haven’t seen a country’s passion for a sport until you’ve experienced American Super Bowl. I guess the only difference to footy or the horse races in Aussie, cricket or soccer in England or rugby or sailing in NZ, is the impact Super Bowl has to a nation with over 320million people. Every year, this huge country pauses for three hours to watch a game that stops a nation. Nine out of ten Super Bowl fans prefer to stay put in their very own homes with the rest venturing out to friend’s houses, bars or restaurants. According to ‘Google’, there are more folks who’d rather miss a major life event like the birth of a child, funeral of a loved one, important work function, or the wedding of a close relative or friend than to miss the Super Bowl. We experienced this patriotism and energy in a bar with Nick and his friend Will. Of course the game got the crowd’s attention but so did the adverts and the halftime show. This year’s game was one sided, so unless you were a Seattle Seahawks’s fan, then the highlight was Bruno Mars’s epic halftime performance. In this bar, people applauded and cheered, as they did to some of the adverts. In the days following, these Super Bowl ads, costing $133,333.33 per second or $4 million per 30-seconds, are highly analysed. The Coke ad caused the most controversy. The American National Anthem was sung in dozens of different languages causing many debates about multiculturalism. All three Doritos ads were highly rated. I bet that was a relief with a $12m outlay – hopefully they were offered a ‘buy 2 get one free’ offer! My favourites included the Bud Light and Budweiser commercials. The latter welcomed home a soldier, representing all soldiers coming home from war. Americans sure know how to entertain, pull record audiences for a football game and even make a television advert worthy of not changing the channel.

“Random Super Bowl XLVIII statistics #22: An estimated 50 million cases of beer, 1.25 billion chicken wings and 11 million slices of Domino’s pizza will be consumed during the game.”

New Orleeens, New OrLins, Nawlins. New Orleans has 9 dialects. It is said that the New Orleans’s dialects are so diverse that each accent can identify a racial or ethnic neighbourhood the person is from. The Cajun ethnic group (French-speakers from Acadiain) are a significant portion of south Louisiana’s population. Cajun’s have exerted an enormous impact on the state’s culture, particularly in the architecture and food. Two day’s ago I’d never heard of jambalaya, gumbo, red beans with rice and po-boys, but down here it’s common terminology for delicious food. Thank’s to Nick, this is just one of the many experiences he gave us. It is always great to get a local’s perspective. Nick in particular, is a wealth of knowledge and is a super intelligent friendly guy who has done New Orleans and America proud. We were taken to key spots around the city by foot in his fabulous Mercedes. To name a few, Jackson Square, Moon Walk on the Mississippi River, the lake, City Park, several affluent neighbourhoods and we even drove by a few fraternities parties. Fraternities actually exist by the way, not just in the movies. Some require a semester long acceptance/inauguration process for the 1/3 of students who participate. Nick hosted us in one of the city’s fanciest of hotels, perfectly located in the heart of the French Quarter. In only two days he managed to squeeze in a night out on Bourbon Street, the WW2 museum, a live NBA game and to watch Super Bowl like a local.

If you had imagined New Orleans to be the city of music, that’s exactly what it is. Street performers with saxophones to full blown jazz clubs. Whether it’s a night out on Bourbon Street or an afternoon stroll around Jackson Square, the place literally rocks with soulful sounds filling the air. This city has a worldly mix of culture, food and music, with influences from Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. New Orleans is one of the world’s most fascinating cities. Yet again, another American welcomed us into their lives. Our experiences in New Orleans wouldn’t have been the same without you Nick. Thank y
ou for everything.

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Houston, TX

The thickness of a piece of paper is the depth that the Grand Canyon deepens per year. As a family, we came here 13 pieces of paper ago but I can’t say I recognised the difference unfortunately. The canyon can be seen from space. This is not surprising as it is 446km long and in parts, 29km wide. It’s 1600m down, two billion years old and to some it up, a hell of a lot of pieces of paper! Mum and Dad gave us (me) strict instruction not to climb down the steep canyon otherwise, I may be rescued by donkey like Mum was. Climbing down seemed like too much effort anyway, compared to the main viewing point by the car park. It’s actually very flat at the top but the neapolitan spectrum of deep reds, whites and browns can be seen for miles. This spectrum of colours is actually the sequence of rock layers that serve as a window in time.
The best part of that morning was the drive around the canyon edge and into the desert. The landscape changed dramatically over the 5hour drive. The drive was one of the most breathtaking drives we had ever done. From deep canyons to the flat desert, finishing with sandstone masterpieces towering at heights of 400 to 1,000 feet. These rock formations in Monument Valley are some of the most majestic and most photographed points on earth. Between you and me, I thought Monument Valley was where the forefathers heads had been carved into the rock (Mt Rushmore). The realisation that this wasn’t the same place, occurred when I saw the colour of the rock. Unlike those white granite statue heads of former presidents, this rock is brilliant red – and no heads to be seen. However, if you have seen Wild Wild West, Back to the Future 3 or any of the John Wayne westerns, then you’ll know what it’s like here. Or if you haven’t, like me, then this quote will have summed it up “these five square miles have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West.” The reason it’s known for that was thanks to the former owners of our desert humble abode. Harry and his wife Leonie (known as “Mike”, because Harry couldn’t spell Leonie) Goulding opened a little trading shop in the 1920s for trading goods with the native Indian people, Navajo. One day during a recession, Harry needed money, so contacted the Hollywood Director, John Ford, to suggest he use this part of the world in films. As soon as John saw the place, he started filming the John Wayne films here. The Goulding’s lodge, formally Harry and Mike’s house and a film set, is where we stayed last night. We watched the sun set from our room’s balcony over looking the valley. The sun accented these graceful formations, providing scenery that was simply spellbinding.

If you haven’t guessed it by now, through the last 53 blogs, we aren’t castle or ‘old thing’ people. Not that we don’t appreciate them but they wouldn’t be the top ten things we’d go to see. The exception to that rule was the Mesa Verde National Park – maybe because we bought a National Park Pass so could get in for free. The park itself is rather boring compared to the others we have visited over the last week. What made this one so fascinating is the 1000 year old structures created by the Ancestral Pueblo people. Summing up a few thousand year old culture, these tribes built elaborate stone communities in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. That’s about all I got on these folk.
10minutes later – 12:09pm – BORED! The novelty of a road trip across America is wearing off. 6-12 hours of driving through deserts and forests followed by more deserts, days at a time isn’t fun anymore. Dave is really enjoying driving these endless desert roads but I have an attention span of a 4 year old. It’s come time to trade in the desert for some civilisation. Although Durango in Colorado had $1 beers, it was a little too ‘Hicksville’ so we carried on to Santa Fe then to Albuquerque in New Mexico.

I read an article a few weeks ago about a remarkable young man and his story about defying odds. It’s not often that you meet someone after reading their story. With that, we drove to Albuquerque to hear Tim tell us his story.
Tim is the same age as me but was born with Down syndrome. In the last 27 years he has accomplished so much, from winning dozens of gold medals in the special Olympics, to homecoming king. I’d say this would be extremely important for any teenager, but particularly this one. Not only does Tim proudly live out of home, he owns his own restaurant. Prior to that huge step he acquired the necessary skills through experience and training.
Tim greeted us at the door to his own restaurant, I told him we had heard of his story all the way from Australia. He smiled and seated us. I asked him about hugs, he proudly showed me that his ‘hug-a-metre’ is up to 43,000 and that he had raised $14,000 for the local fire brigade through his restaurant fundraising schemes. The food at Tim’s Place comes with a Tim Hug and they claim to be the world’s friendliest restaurant. We ordered off a menu that had the best selection of ‘Julia food’. My meal consisted of Mac and Cheese, Salad and Fruit – random just like me. After Tim gave us a hug, he just sat down and chatted to us over the hour we ate lunch.
He obviously has Down syndrome but that isn’t what defines Tim. He loved chatting about olympic sports and that giving hugs were the best part of his day, claiming he’s “a lean, mean, hugging machine”. While tying all the condiments up with straw wrappers, he proudly informed us he was the only person with Down Syndrome who owns their own restaurant, a dream of his for many years. What struck us, was his positive attitude towards achieving anything, even with the simplest of goals. Tim also explained that he is now a public speaker to crowds of as many as 3,000. He is asked to speak to business owners and families who have a child with Down syndrome. I’ll say it again, it was his attitude that is making him achieve what most people our age will only ever dream about.
Before leaving, we spoke to Tim’s staff who were by far the best waiters we had ever come across. They said it is a fun place to work with a low staff turnover – because Tim is a great boss. Tim and his staff have nailed the title “world’s friendliest restaurant”. After 3 successful years, they have just opened for dinner. This place is succeeding and so is Tim. It’s down to attitude and determination. I read he once said: “I have a dream to inspire other people to reach for the stars. If I can do it, you can too.”

After leaving Albuquerque, we drove to Roswell. I’ve decided that if I was an alien, I wouldn’t be dropping by this one horse town. Apart from a god awful smell of cattle, there is an odd line up of buildings: Little Lamb’s Christian Preschool next to Discount Gun Shop then Church’s Chicken. The next town, Carlsbad Caverns, famous for bats, had no bats. Keep on driving, driving driving, driving. 1,040km of straight driving later, we arrived into the first texan town for the night. The following day, yes maaammmm, three Texan cities in one day: San Antonio, Austin and ending in Huston. Yeeha! I wouldn’t agree that everything is bigger (apart from the waistlines) and better in Texas but the people sure are different. Although lovely and welcoming, they sound a little slower but many fit the perfect picture: cowboy hats, jeans, flannel shirts and boots. We actually enjoyed Texas, particular San Antonio’s river walk and the Texan dinner in Houston. So, I’ve never ordered ribs before and I don’t think I should have started in Texas where the food IS in fact BIGGER. My good golly, I ordered a New York steak and ribs from the tummy of a cow and Dave ordered unlimited cow ribs and one drink to share. The cost of all this was less than half of what you would pay in Australia. How did we go eating like a Texan? let us say, we couldn’t even finish a large Texan size pink lemonade between the two of us. The waitress asked if we wanted to have take home bags, I told her we had become vegetarians who never want to sweat out meat again. Next time we come to Texas, we’ll be ordering kids meals ot
herwise it’ll be a miSteak!

Similar to inland Australia, in between sparse towns America has a whole lot of nothing. From state to state, desert to desert, each day was rolling into one. If you don’t believe there are such things as tumble weeds and sandstorms, drive through the desert states of New Mexico, Utah, Arizona and Texas. After the 7th day of desert driving, my frustration and boredom began to show. Anyone who knows me will know how long that ‘actually’ took. Anyone who knows how awesome my husband is, will know how good he is at keeping me amused for as long as possible. Although Dave enjoyed playing the game of dodge the tumble weeds on the highways, he can make a game out of anything, we decided to fast track all Hicksville towns and find civilisation – in New Orleans.

The moral of today’s story: If you don’t like the situation fix it, or get your husband to fix it!

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Albuquerque, NM

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Las Vegas, NV

When I was 13, Mum and Dad waited until dark before we drove from the darkness of the desert into the light city of Las Vegas. Fifteen years later, Dave and I took the same drive in. The city’s glow can be seen hundreds of kilometres out. There are 24,140 kilometres of neon tubing down the Las Vegas Strip and downtown. It was a long, bland freeway from Yosemite Camp Site to our plush hotel room in Las Vegas. 12 hours of nothing. It had been a few days since we had showered, brushed our hair or changed out of the clothes we had slept in. Basically, we looked as terrible as we felt. I think that the lovely hotel reception lady, at The Quad, felt sorry for us and gave us a huge deluxe room on the 17th floor overlooking The Strip for that reason.

I don’t suppose people come to Vegas for a good night’s sleep but we sure did on the first night. It felt like a week since we had slept in a bed, not in a car, couch or tent. The following morning, at about 8am, a husband said to his wife that he had just lost a few thousand on the gaming tables. The wife responded with something similar. I couldn’t believe that while we were sleeping, someone just ‘lost’ that amount of money. Welcome to Vegas Baby!

The first thing to know about Vegas is that it is the Disneyland for adults. Like Disneyland there are many components that make for a memorable experience. It’s not all about the gambling as some may presume. Vegas was visited by 32million tourists last year, a handful of our friends are included in those statistics. Those in the know will already be familiar with what Vegas has to offer. Like me, those who hadn’t experienced it guessed what it was like. Those with more than $3 to risk will have had a different experience to ours.
It’s not about the money here, although that helps. We managed to have a jam packed three days and two nights in Vegas, all the while doing it on a shoe string budget. Like Disneyland, there’s something for everyone.

If Bellagio was your first casino to visit in Vegas, you would be blown away by the size. It even has its own “conservatory” with beautiful floral displays. You may even say it’s the best hotel you have ever been in. Vegas boasts 17 of the 20 world’s largest hotels. The problem is, once you have visited these ‘resorts’, the expectations around casino/ hotels is that little bit higher. Opulence, grand, unique, themed and plush would be a few words to describe the ‘resorts’ along the Vegas strip, also known as Las Vegas Boulevard. Each one is the size of a small shopping centre, housing between 50 -150 designer boutiques. Each has upwards of 30 restaurants and bars and a gaming floor the size of a football field. Each is unique in its own way and can take hours to walk through.
The Bellagio wasn’t the first casino we visited, therefore we were a little underwhelmed by it’s mismatched theme and boring design compared to others. That’s not to say I’d pass up the opportunity to rest my head there, but Caesar Palace would be the ‘opulent hotel of choice’ and Dave’s favourite. What a snob, I know! The Roman Empire theme in Caesars is portrayed through marble floors, stone masonry pillars, reflecting pools and replicas of the Statue of David and many of the famous fountains from that era.
Hundreds of hotels line the strip. Due to our lack of time, we only went into the really big, well known ones. Many have themes but some are more obvious than others. The Venetian and Paris are the two standouts. Sadly, I think I liked these two resorts more than the ‘real’ cities, Venice and Paris. Maybe it was that I appreciated the effort and exceptional detail gone into the reproduction of these European cities. Outside the ‘Paris’ resort are half-scale replicas of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. The front of the hotel suggests the Paris Opera House and the Louvre. Inside the building façades surround the casino, modelling actual French neighbourhoods. Every restaurant or high end boutique has a different entrance way or roof. Above these shops are the hotel rooms yet they are made to look like French apartments. Many resorts have painted their ceilings blue with clouds giving an instant outside feeling, indoors. Paris goes one step further with their cobble stone streets and lamp posts. We continued to stroll past bubbling fountains and down the winding alleyways of Le Boulevard, filled with charming boutiques and restaurants that resemble Parisian cafes.
The main buffet in Paris has individual dining rooms. Each is themed for a particular french province and features an intricate facade designed to replicate the architecture of that region. We ate there twice with our buffet pass. The first time we ate there was under a tree on the cobble stones with street lights hung overhead. When we left that restaurant we were back on the Paris street where other restaurants, French patisseries and coffee shops have their own individual feel to them. They even have a token rude Parisian, unintentionally of course, but it wouldn’t of been the same with out it. Although Paris and Venice were my least favourite cities, these two hotels were my favourite in Vegas. They have nailed the details so accurately. The Venetian for example, has a fully functioning canal. Venice’s Grand Canal, winds its way through cobbled walkways and streetside cafes. Gondoliers actually float beneath bridges, under balconies and through the vibrant Venetian streetscape. Unlike the real Venice, the Las Vegas Italian’s sing…. “when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, That’s amore”.
In third place, was New York New York. The only reason they get a look in is because of their yellow cab outdoor roller coaster. We throughly enjoyed zipping around outside of New York after a few daiquiris.
The Mirage and Treasure Island have a rain forest and pirate ship. The Exalibar looks like Disneyland and the Luxor or ‘the pyramid’ has an Egyptian theme with sphinx and marble mummies. The Luxor has a high powered light shinning from the tip of their pyramid shaped hotel. Their electricity bill is $60 per hour, but can be seen from space. Aria and The Cosmopolitan are glamorous. What struck us with the Cosmopolitan is all the pretty ladies in their knickers dancing in little boxes. Not just for the men at the bar, but they seemed to be imbedded in the walls for the passers by. I guess you could say I wrote a lot about these resorts, but the reality is that is a huge part of Vegas. Regardless of which hotel you wander into, the casino takes centre stage. Often a walk between the gaming tables is required to get to the shopping centre or hotel reception. Unlike Australia, there are no dress regulations. From flip flops or shorts is acceptable. I guess in their opinion, it doesn’t matter what you wear as long as you have money to spend – it’s good enough for Vegas!

“Vegas Fact #8: The 34 million people who go to Vegas to gamble collectively lose about $6 billion per year between them or about $175 per trip to Vegas. Another way to look at it Is each gambler kindly donates $580 to an already $8 billion profitable business. Funnily enough, the average expense for sightseeing was only $9.63. Sadly, but believably, Vegas has the highest suicide rate in the country for both residents and tourists.”

Thankfully Vegas caters for those who don’t want to risk anything. Every corner you walk around, someone is there giving paper money to spend in their casinos. Over the three days we were given $150 of casino money to spend in Casino Royale, Caesars Palace, MGM and Luxor. The thrill and odds were the same as if we had forked $150 out of our own pockets but without the risks. Unlike that husband and wife in the lift who lost thousands, we only lost $3 of our own money and won$19.17. We don’t have the patience for gambling, so a few hours on the slot machines and tables was plenty of time for us to have a go at gambling in Vegas. The best thing about spending somebody else’s money, was the free drinks they gave us for doing so. In Vegas, the waitresses dressed in skimpy outfits give out free drinks t
o anyone playing the machines. How can you not love this place? They give you money to spend in their casinos and then reward you with free drinks!
It’s not just casino credits that can be won. We won a two night Caribbean cruise by registering for some promotion in Treasure Island casino. We missed out on the car and $2 million dollars, but beggars can’t be choosers. Another day, we chatted to a lady who gave us tickets to The Vegas Show, dinner and vouchers if we spent two hours listening to her talk about a timeshare presentation. We desperately wanted to go to a Vegas show but didn’t want to spend hundreds doing so. Similar to gambling, we wanted to experience something but without putting our hands into our own pockets. In Vegas, this is possible. If we sound like cheap **** snobs, that’s because we are!

“Vegas Fact #59: The average number of daily weddings is 315. The wedding license and marriages cost is $255. As there are no required blood tests or waiting periods, and couples may utilise the additional service, a divorce, for only$450. The odds of that marriage succeeding is about the same as a day on the pokies”

Las Vegas isn’t just about the gambling and free drinks; it’s also about food, glorious food … more specifically, the buffets. I didn’t realise they are famous for this.
The Bellagio buffet has a reputation for being one of Vegas’ best. Sadly the $50pp price tag was unaffordable for one meal. Once again, Vegas provided options for those not willing to break the bank. As an alternative, we purchased a $45 buffet pass. It gave us the option to eat at 7 buffets within 24 hours. If timed right, that’s 2 dinners, a breakfast and lunch for less than it would have been to go for one meal at the Bellagio. The buffets we went to for those four meals were the best buffets we had ever been to in our lives. The Paris buffet gave us complimentary wine and Planet Hollywood’s Spices buffet was so extensive it even had candy floss!

There are as many drink options in Vegas as there are food and gambling options. To name a few, the $50 open bars, $2Tequila Bars, $22 oxygen massage bars, $5 Margarita bars but our favourites were the Daiquiri bars. It’s a genius concept. After choosing a vessel to contain the daiquiri, mix and match the flavours to suit your taste buds. Refills can be made on nearly every corner. They seem to be more common than a coffee shop. The best bit about Vegas is, the ability to walk around the streets, shopping centres, casinos and some restaurants with an American football filled with tequila mix and walk out with sweet rum punch. You have to remember there is so much going on everywhere you look, with a drink in your hand you are flexible to experience so much for free. We saw the Duelling Pianos, funky jazz bands and other awesome live bands this way. When we got bored we took our drink and wandered down the strip to the next spot. There is always music playing and something happening at night. The Bellagio fountains put on their world famous show every 15 minutes. Bursts of water shoot stories high and lighting timed to music all beautifully choreographed made for the best water show we had ever seen.

I googled 5 words to describe Vegas. So many answers from every side of the spectrum came up. Gourmet food, world’s premier casinos or spectacular shows. That’s what I love about a place like this. Whether a high roller or a low-key lounger, Las Vegas has something for everyone. We stayed in the cheapest place on the strip yet it was the best hotel we had ever stayed in and for cheaper than a campsite. We ate like kings and drank like soldiers. We didn’t win the million but we don’t lose the earth. There’s not any one component of Vegas that makes this place pop but all of them collectively make Disneyland for adults like no place on earth. These are the 5 words we would use to describe Vegas: varied, glamorous, atmospheric, desired and epic.

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Yosemite National Park, CA

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