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Placerville, CA

One of the primary drivers for coming to the states was to gain a better understanding of the American people and their culture. This includes understanding their views, beliefs and values. Without exception, those that we have meet abroad have always been genuinely friendly and welcoming towards foreigners. A few locals in particular come to mind and we had hoped to catch up with them throughout this road trip. While on a free walking tour in Venice and again in Florence we kept bumping into Nicko and his mum Joy, from California. Whilst talking over a bottle of wine at a picnic dinner in Florence, they invited us to visit them while we were in America. Their welcoming nature is a very common trait among Americans. Three months later, we arrived at the Hawkins family home. Joy and her husband Darryl live in Placerville, a few hours from Lake Tahoe. Their daughter Sami and son Nicko were back at the family home that weekend too. We felt welcomed and at ease from the moment we stepped foot on to their average property on top of a hill overlooking farms and forests below. Dave was in awe of Darryl’s ‘shop’. A workshop full to the brim with tools, toys and a truck that the boys were working on when we arrived. This home is the pinnacle of family homes because of its setting and the ‘feel’. From the moment we walked in, we were welcomed wholeheartedly into their family just like it was our own. If you’re reading this Carol, It was just like walking into your home at the Taylor’s. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is often centred around the kitchen or dining room table. Nicko and Sami’s friends are always helping out, making meals and helping where needed. It’s a sign of feeling comfortable when you can cook a meal in someone’s kitchen, after meeting them just the day before. I loved it! We would hope that one day we will have a home just like this one, where everyone feels like it’s their home. It couldn’t be a bad start sinking a few bottles of red after dinner on our first night either. It was our first real opportunity to get to know an American family. Although beliefs, such as gun law and tipping were worlds apart from our own, we began to understand Americanism or as the boys would say at an opportune time “MeriKa!”. You travel because you want to understand a country, not because you want to change it. It was fascinating and a throughly enjoyable evening and just the start of one heck of a weekend.

After breakfast the following morning, Sami took us on a tour around the beautiful town of Placerville which is full of quaint shops and cafés. The coffee shop, serving apple cider is in an old mine shaft. On our way home, we stopped for milk, eggs and ammo. We needed ammo for the 50th party we were attending that arvo. An American walking into a gun shop was as normal to them as an Aussie walking into a bottlo to buy beer. I tried to explain to them how weird that was for us. I explained, it would be like them walking into a shop to buy a bomb – you just wouldn’t do it. I’ve never really seen a gun, let alone a shop full of products to support the actual gun selection on the back wall. After being in Africa and admiring the lions and learning about the nearly extinct Black Rhinos, we both struggled seeing their bodies and mounted heads as trophies on the wall of this shop. As well as Africa’s Big 5, hundreds of wildlife from across the world were nailed to the walls. Although we didn’t agree with that component of gun use, we understood that owning a gun is used for many different purposes, this being just one. I’m glad we had that experience. It was fascinating, worrying, disturbing and exciting all at the same time.

It was a weekend of firsts! I wrote the following paragraph at 2am laying in the back of our rental car in the party host’s car park. I’d gone 27 years and never slept in the back of a car. Dave arrived at 4am, after playing pool with the party’s host in his man cave for a few hours. As he arrived later, he got the front seat!
Eleven hours ago, we arrived to our first Ranch Party. A family friend of the Hawkins’ hosted his 50th birthday on his 160 acre ranch. There are tractors, ATVs and other fun toys next to a pond the size of a lake. In the front garden overlooking the acreage is a massive bar and concert sized, cedar stage completely kitted out for the two bands who played until the early hours of the morning. It was one heck of a party. I’d never drunk beer from a keg at a party before and I’d never been invited to a party where a round of ammo is shot before the pig is served. I’d always been very much an anti gun person – no ifs, buts or maybes. I’d never understood the fascination with it, particularly because of the grief it can cause. International media only report the numerous shootings in cinemas and schools. What they don’t portray, is the millions who just use them as a tool for recreational sport. Over the last 24 hours of hanging out with people from the country, we’ve thoroughly exhausted the debate from both sides about the use of guns. I love a debate, but at the end of the day you come to a country to experience a culture and not make it your own. We are firm believers, that you can’t knock something until you try it. With that in mind, when one of the guys asked us if we wanted to go “shoot some rounds”, I was the first person to jump in the tractor and go shooting! We had a go shooting the 12 gauge shot gun and and 17 mil magnum rifle. I preferred the one with the eye hole and tripod thing to hold its weight. So, now we’ve done it – what do we think? Although we wouldn’t want one for ourselves, we can see how people enjoy the adrenalin rush of shooting a target or for food. Used in the right hands, they don’t scare me as much as they used to. Their constitutional right to bear arms for protection is a whole other kettle of fish, but after this experience, I now understand both sides of the debate.
A few hundred people that night enjoyed the ranch party, company, country music, shooting, cowboy hats and checkered shirts, fire pits and fiery steel drums, meat fried on the BBQ, never ending catering, fireworks and of course a 12 hour open bar with enough Sierra Nevada kegs and top shelf liquor to sink a ship. It was one hell of a Ranch Party. How fortunate we were to be a part of that. Thank you Jeff and Kelly.

After only a few hours sleep in the back (and front) of the car we returned to the Hawkins for pancakes. As we were cooking, we learnt how to master the art of cooking American bacon. I’m unsure that we succeeded, but we tried. An hour later we were out the door for a day on the rapids – the South Fork of the American River.The rapids on the South Fork are “rock garden” style rapids: meaning rocks in the channel create the rapids. Large pools follow each rapid, allowing time to regroup.
We couldn’t be in better hands. Nicko, Sami and all the guys with us are white watering rafting guides. As they weren’t working that day, they kayaked the rapids while Dave, one of the most experienced guides, kindly took Dave and I down on our own raft. This experience would of cost us a few hundred dollars – so big thanks to Dave and Nicko for the day. It’s winter here and in a drought. Water is released into the dam for a few hours a day, so timing was essential. So, no time for a hangover! The waves in the rapids were as high as 5 foot or up to a class 4. A class 6 is unraftable. The last rapid of the day is a class 3+ or 4-. ‘Trouble Maker’ is a double whammy, one hit after the other. We knew what to do in the unlikely event we were to fall out. Dave hadn’t had anyone fall out there in 5 years. We paddled like hell until Dave told us to crouch in and hold on. Seconds later, we just fell out and got one hell of an adrenalin rush. We both couldn’t get back into the raft before the next rapid, the biggest rapid on the river sucked us in and under! Dave shouted out instructions to ensure we didn’t crack open our heads on a rock. It was hard to believe but we unintentionally swam through a class four rapid. Even though it was a blur, in all that chaotic excitement, I was ear
to ear smiling and loved every moment.
By the time we got back home, we were even more shattered than when we rolled out of the car that morning. Joy was back from L.A and seeing her was just like when we saw her in Italy months before. There is nothing better than a ‘mum cuddle’. Joy was preparing the most exquisite American style appetisers for the dozen people who returned from the river ready for an afternoon of back to back, semi final American football. If there was one thing that had to be done to complete this ‘all American weekend’, it was grid iron with beer, steak crackers and BBQ sauce on everything. It was very cool to be a part of that. Pure enthusiasm from fans here, to bars and living rooms all across the country. I’m not a sports fan by any means, but what I love about Americans, is a national love and enthusiastic approach to sport – from Colin’s 93 year old grandma to Buddy the Hawkin’s AWESOME labrador, who jumped at touch downs! And, that’s all I’ll say about the 49ers not quite making it to Super Bowl this year.

“American Football Fact #79: They have at the start of each game and for the duration what is called the 12th man or 12th player. Most football leagues allow a maximum of eleven players per team on the field at any one time. Team’s fans are the 12th man as they have a potentially helpful role in the game. The presence of fans can have a profound impact on how the teams perform, an element in the home advantage. Fans will often create loud sounds (shouting, whistling, stomping) or chant in hopes of distracting, demoralising and confusing the opposing team while they have possession of the ball or to persuade a referee to make a favourable decision. The deafening noise can be as high as 120 decibels!”

After a weekend of drinking we felt like we had already been run over by a truck so eating at California’s In N Out burger joint could only improve things. Right? In N Out prides themselves on only fresh, not frozen produce yet these meals are far from a healthy eat. With a queue out the door, they’re mighty popular. Another quirk to this joint is their potato chopper where the potato is manually pushed through blades spitting out the French Fries. Their 4 item menu is simple: hamburger, cheeseburger, double double or French fries. There is a secret menu for those ‘in the know’. Nicko and Colin took us there and ordered us a Neapolitan milkshake, animal style fries (topped with melted cheese, fried onions and secret burger sauce) and a 4×4 burger which we choose to have with buns not just lettuce as the bun. Otherwise, the 4 patties and 4 slices of cheese would have been more of a mess than it already was. After jumping on the scales for the first time in 8 months, I realised that this backpacking, eat out lifestyle has gained me a kilo a month since leaving home. I doubted this few thousand calorie menu would do me too much more harm.. The thing is, food is a huge part of a country and we just couldn’t miss out!

What an incredible drive between the Hawkins family home in Placerville to Nicko’s house at Donner Lake, next to Lake Tahoe. After leaving the gold mining town with wooden shacks, we entered mountain ranges with millions of 50ft pine trees with a light covering of snow on the ground. The road wraps it self around the cliff edge and at one point on a ridge with Tahoe on both sides. It’s pretty cool considering we were over 7,000 ft high. Nicko kindly stopped along the way to point out photo spots and interesting touristy things. We stopped off at Emerald Bay that over looks Lake Tahoe and went to another spot for sunset. Nicko and his mates are living in one of the best parts of the world. Their awesome lifestyle is a mixture of winter and summer jobs and hobbies, often overlapping. They really utilise these world class mountains, rivers, and lakes for kayaking, rafting, climbing, stand up paddle boarding, wind surfing, waterskiing, skiing and snow boarding. They ARE ‘Livin’ the American Dream’.

The following morning, our day of departure, Nicko gave us directions for the most scenic route from his house on the lake to Yosemite National Park. This route around the edge of Lake Tahoe completed the shoreline circumference of 116km. Only 20 minutes into our 4 hour road trip to Yosemite we stopped for a takeaway coffee at Starbucks. The lady ahead of us made polite conversation and as she left she said she loved our accent and asked where we were heading. Following that, we chatted to June, an artist, for nearly an hour. One of the first things I said to her was how locals stopping for a chat can make our day. We talked about everything from healthcare, guns, politics, travelling and life in Australia and America. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Americans are so welcoming, maybe more than any other nationality. Once again, we were welcomed into someone’s house for a home cooked meal and a place to stay. Unfortunately we didn’t have the time this trip. June, we will remember you. Thank you for sharing your story with us.

We arrived into Yosemite 5 hours late. Prior to arriving in America, I was flipping out about being shot to death in a national park camp ground or being a bear’s dinner. I can see how stupid that sounds, now. Complete with a tent, kindly donated from the Hawkins family, and advice from Colin and June on how to protect ourselves from bears, we camped the night in Yosemite! To me, that was a bigger deal than eating a tarantula in Cambodia. Five minutes before the ranger left for the day, we arrived and paid for a campsite within Curry Village, Yosemite. We planned on sleeping out in the park, after a day of hiking. Due to our later arrival, we postponed the hike (aimless wander) until the following day. The ranger gave us strict instruction to put all food and toiletries in the bear box. Should we come in harms way, we should make a lot of noise and scream loudly. We must scream “go away, leave me alone”. We also must add “bear” at the end of that sentence so people don’t think you’re having a lover’s tiff.
Our night inside Yosemite National Park reminded me of our night camping on the Botswana delta. Except here, there were bears not hippos grunting. We love our camping and have come accustomed to the cold temperatures. Last night however, it was just shy of -5c and a little unbearable especially since we were millimetres from the ground on yoga mats and without thick enough sleeping bags and thermals. Although we were up most of the night shivering, we put it down to an experience that we are glad to have done. I didn’t make the same mistake as I did in Botswana, drinking to much cider before bed. So, I didn’t accidentally stand on the park’s wildlife: coyote, deer, squirrels, chipmunks and of course bears! Early the following morning we took a short hike (stroll) to the lower Yosemite Falls. Interestingly, the falls in their entirety, not just lower part we hiked (meandered) to, are some of the biggest in America and 5th biggest fall in the world. I was fascinated with the fact that in winter the water falling creates a snow volcano shape up to the height of a 25 story building. When temperatures warm up in early spring, the water from the fall begins to drill a hole at the top of the cone, creating a volcano like structure. I can understand why climbers and tourists come from all over the world to explore this magnificat national park. Over eons, rivers and glaciers somehow carved 3,000 feet into solid granite to create Yosemite Valley. The erosion of the Valley forms spectacular rock formations, for which Yosemite Valley is famous. The pine, cedar, oak and giant sequoias trees tower through the park making for photo opportunities on every corner.

The Hawkins family and their friends have given us a once in a lifetime experience to live and breathe like an American. We have learnt and understood more about the culture and their beliefs than we could have possibly imagined. Views, beliefs, right and wrong, acceptable or not will always divide any nation from either side of the political and religious fence. On
e thing is for certain, wherever we travel to, we want to really experience the culture wholeheartedly, get in and give it ago – without judgment. We have shot guns, been to a ranch party, mastered the one utensil eating style, rafted and swam in the American river, drunk Sierra Nevada while watching American football, enjoyed cider in a mineshaft in a gold mining town, eaten American style food, all the while living like a local. To the Hawkins family and Travis, Colin, Dave, Dylan, Steven and Steve, you have given us experiences and opportunities we would otherwise not of had. You have made this weekend a highlight of this year. We can only hope to return the favour one day. “MeriKa!”

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San Diego, CA

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Monterey, CA

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Los Angeles, CA

Mission #942: A 33 day journey across North America
Starting point: San Francisco. End Point: Miami

Driving across America gives us the flexibility of backpacking but without the inconvenience of feeling like a turtle with a sore back. I was blown away with the car rental’s attitude towards us and their cars. They said, just go out the back and choose any one of the 15 cars, then we just drove off. We chose a brand new Chrysler to take us the required 6,000+ kilometres cross country.
From San Francisco, we headed to Palo Alto and the Apple headquarters in Silicon Valley before heading north to Napa Valley. The picturesque main street of Palo Alto wasn’t what I had expected the surprisingly dull town of Napa to look like. It’s funny how things aren’t always what you’d expect. Napa Valley however, the valley where all the vineyards are in, is a stunning array of rolling hills lined with vines. It is the only wine region in America we’d heard of but in fact this region only contributes to 4% of the wine in California (90% of the country’s wine is from California). We have tried our fair share of wine tasting in New Zealand and Australia and haven’t had to pay for it. It seemed as though in Europe, Africa and now North America, a tasting fee of between $10-$25 per person is required. Fortunately, we chose the only vineyard we visited in the Napa Valley well. Of course, it helped that we were armed with a buy 1 tasting, get 1 free voucher. At 4:30pm we pulled into Jamison Ranch just as the sun was setting over the vines. A two story log cabin mansion with a wrap around ‘Queenslander’ balcony made for a perfect setting to enjoy the 4 Californian wines, primarily reds. It was a shame our camera battery decided to die here. As a positive. I’m thankful that our stingy ***** decided to go for cheap Chinese over an exy Napa wine and gourmet dinner. It was the best Chinese we’d ever had, even more so than in China.
A slow start leaving Napa meant we were a little short of time resulting in a drive to Muir woods but not actually walking around them. We were time poor because we had to be in LA the following day, via the coastal, slower road. I’d chosen that particular southern freeway over the faster inland motorway as it hugs the coastline and coastal towns. Fortunately, Dave was happy with this decision to drive the extra distance. The coastline has a hint of Australia’s Great Ocean Road with a touch of New Zealand’s rugged, dark sand, cliff faces and jagged edges. The road is so close to the ocean, the spray clouds the view.

“Random fact #6. USA has 25 million war veterans. 75% them served in a war. 70 million veterans, family members of those who served are eligible for financial support or benefits.”

For a solid 9 hours, we continued to drive along the coastline south. From our accommodation in Monterey, the road wove though the Big Sur forest perching on the cliff edge. Up and over the hills and into barren farmland on one side of the road to elephant seals on the other.
After a long drive, we arrived into Malibu for a 2pm breakfast/lunch/dinner. Surprisingly, there were only 3 restaurants along the beach front. Malibu has back-to-back beachfront mansions but few restaurants in between. I’d expected something like Sydney’s expensive beachfront restaurant strip. Driving from the beach into the heart of L.A was simpler than expected. When choosing accommodation anywhere around the world, it’s purely dictated by price, then location. We chose the cheapest dive in L.A, located on Sunset Boulevard. We got the true blue cheap L.A dive experience too. At 2am LAPD busted open our neighbours door, just like in the movies, before he got handcuffed and taken away.
For our only full day in L.A, we decided to do a hop on hop off bus. L.A is very much spread out with ****** public transport options so this provided the perfect way to see the city without having to drive. Just like a Queensland winter’s day, the sun shone with not a cloud in the sky. We spent a few hours over lunchtime walking along the colourful Venice Beach Boardwalk, then all the way down to Santa Monica pier. I think we loved it so much because it reminded us of the Gold Coast, except on a much grander scale. L.A beachfront is utilised with heaps of free options in the sand. There’s volleyball, skateparks, outdoor gyms, bodybuilding centres, slack-lining and rollerblading paths. They even have the Santa Monica ferris-wheel over the water and the Cirque Du Soleil tent in the sand. Cities can be very same-same. LA however, has got to be a world stand out city. Big call I know! It’s all in the feel. Not to mention: it’s not overpriced, it has a beautiful beach, it’s surrounded by 46 miles of undeveloped mountain range, the streets are spotlessly clean, people are helpful and the traffic was much better than expected. Did I mention the beautiful beach and the weather. There is always something going on too. We went for a walk along Hollywood Boulevard and there was a red carpet premier and two dozen film and camera crew. I wasn’t wearing my glasses, so sadly I don’t know who we spent 10 minutes looking at. A blurry blond? Down at the beach they were also filming a video clip for an ‘up and coming’ pop artist. There are hundreds and hundreds of celebrities who live in the foothills of Hollywood Hills, Beverley Hills and BelAir. Beverly Hills is the most condensed with A-listers. Everything is so well manicured and ‘perfect’. The streets were even designed with curves rather than straight lines to give a ‘country feeling’. Every street in this postcode, from Rodeo drive to the residential ‘colonies’, have different trees lining each side of the road. Palm trees, pine trees and other gigantic trees complement the wealth hidden behind the high fences. The houses were bigger than I could have ever imagined. The morning we were due to leave we (well, maybe just me) wanted to take a drive through those overpriced postcodes. I should have taken Dave’s rolling of the eyes a little more seriously. I’ll admit to this only once, then please don’t judge me: I bought a $5 map with 400 celebrities addresses on it. It was a good idea at the time honestly….Retrospectively looking at the situation, we wasted precious beach time that we would have enjoyed far more.
I think it’s Day 252 today. What ever day it is, I should have stayed in bed. After wasting the morning aimlessly driving around Beverly Hills, the 1.5hr drive to San Diego took nearly 5 hours. We have a Sat Nav to stop us getting lost and to prevent car-guments. Sadly that couldn’t even help Day 252. When it came right down to it, we were trying to squeeze too much in and didn’t see anything. Half way down the detour to Long Beach, we decided to abort that mission. It seemed as though that was the theme of the day, trying for something and not quite getting there because we needed to reach the ‘next thing’. We drove all day only to get to San Diego, just as the sun was setting. Dave managed to see the long boarding beach but didn’t have time to surf it. To finish the day off, we enjoyed a Mexican meal in Old Town. From the drive around town, to the beach and waterfront, it was obvious that San Diego is a destination to revisit at a later date. Dave particularly, enjoyed the surfing culture and the Mexican influence. Sadly, we have to leave againat 7am in the morning for a 10hr straight, highway drive back up North, to Lake Tahoe to visit friends. We do this and we never learn. Maybe we shouldn’t have come all the way south for only a few hours or gone to L.A for a day. Do less, enjoy it more. Or, maybe we got out of bed to learn this lesson, again. Some days aren’t always ‘rainbows and unicorns’. Some days we are better off smiling and remembering that tomorrow is Day 253 – a new day..

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San Francisco, CA

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things…” This quote, by Steve Jobs, came to mind when walking though our neighbourhood where we were staying for the week. To some, it’s called 6th Street, Soma. To others, it’s called Crazy Town but for some it’s called home. From the moment we stepped out of our cheap accommodation, we were surrounded by nutters, street people and homeless. Often they’re chatting to themselves or arguing with other street sleepers. There’s the armless, the legless, the drunk and the high. They’ll beg for money, lay on the pavement or sing a tune or two. We weren’t bothered in the slightest by our surroundings, although a street savvy attitude was essential. This is a city that wears its heart on its sleeve. You see the good, the bad and the indifferent for what it is. Those people we walk past everyday have found themselves in a bad situation. Whether their choice, their fault or not,they provided street entertainment in the form of life and music. A single man played his plastic buckets using kitchen utensils. A woman next to her dog strummed on a banjo. A man with a tatty suit sang next to his home; a shopping trolly filled with his belongings. A smile came to our face listening to his pure voice that lightened up a grey day. His tip box was full and he had food for the night. Will they ever know what happiness they bring to the thousands walking past. We love street performers, especially the ones who make the most of difficult situations. “…They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Karma. Karma is the word I used to explain why I have no phone. In our last blog I rabbited on about how wrong it is that tipping a shuttle driver is expected, after already paying for the ride. Well, I didn’t tip him and I left my phone in the shuttle. Lost and Found have advised me the driver supposedly doesn’t have the phone. I called it karma, Dave called it forgetful. In the shuttle, Dave gave me the phone, as he had a hole in his jean’s pocket. For the last 8 months, the only thing I’m trusted to hold is lipgloss. In response, Dave bought new jeans and resumed all responsibilities.

We were suppose to be in Hawaii this week according to ‘our plan’. The plan didn’t allow for inflated flights over the holiday season. Taking the responsible option, we flew directly to San Francisco where our car hire begins. That option came with a surprise. Our friends Jeremy and Jin were over this way on holiday so we spent the week catching up with old friends and meeting new, their friends Libby and Kimberly.
On the two days either side of their visit, we saved money and ate microwave meals and cereal. While they were here however, we enjoyed every moment of their company. San Francisco is very hilly so the only way to get around up and over these hills is by their famous cable car, which is the world’s last manually operated cable car system. Street Cars are similar but run around the edge of the town and waterfront. We relied on this public transport a lot as our accommodation was at the other end of town to Jeremy and Jin’s, who were staying at Fisherman’s Wharf. Fisherman’s Wharf has sidewalk stands selling $6 clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls. It was a perfect lunch in and amongst the seagulls with a great view of the bay and Alcatraz. Jeremy and Libby took us out for a fabulous meal by the seal colony on Pier 39. Following that dinner we dined every night with them and Jin and Kimberly at American diners and local Cafes such as Mamas and Dotties. Our favourite was a picnic in Alamo Square Park which featured in the opening sequence of the Full House sitcom. The ciders under the sun went down a treat while we listened to the Full House theme song – that sounds as cheesy as it actually was. The view with the city in the background and the ‘painted ladies’, a row of Victorian houses, in the foreground made for a perfect setting. We walked the cider off with a stroll in the park and through Hippy Town.
Another outing with Jin and Kimberly was to Alcatraz, “The Rock”, a former maximum security prison on an island in the San Francisco Bay. During the 29 years of operation it was specifically designed to house the most horrendous prisoners, the troublemakers that other prisons could not successfully detain. Its isolated location made it ideal for the exile of hardened criminals, and a strict daily routine taught inmates to follow prison rules and regulations. Although, there were a total of 14 escape attempts by over 30 prisoners, most were caught, several were shot, and a few were swallowed by the chilling swells of the San Francisco Bay.
For our last adventure, we hired bikes and traveled along the waterfront and up and over the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a must do touristy thing but by golly it’s very surreal actually being up there. We couldn’t think of a better way to do such an iconic thing than to share that memory with friends. Libby suggested we have lunch in Sausalito which is on the other side of the Golden Gate. This wealthy, picturesque residential community on the water was a perfect place for hearty fish and chips before taking the ferry back over to Fisherman’s Wharf.

In the 8 days we’ve been in San Francisco we’ve had a great mix of adventure, cuisine and time to relax before our road trip across America starts. It’s always people that make a place memorable. Eight days has given us long enough to see many sides from different perspectives. We didn’t stay in the tourist hub, yet the locals in our area were the ones who made this whole town shine. From the man at the grocery store who welcomed us to the neighbourhood and wanted to know our story, to Carlos, the Europa Hostel owner. Carlos made his place feel like a home not a room. He gave us a microwave so we could save money on food, he upgraded our room twice before checkin and gave us his phone to use to sort out our lost iPhone. It’s these little things that make you love a place. San Francisco’s beauty was highlighted by the crazy ones, the locals and our friends who all made these memories.

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New York City, NY

When planning this world trip, the first time and again the second time many years later, we both decided our itinerary must have two ‘must dos’. We could go anywhere at anytime as long as Dave got to go to Germany for Oktoberfest and for me, New York for Christmas.
Mum and Dad showed an interest in visiting us at our midway point all those years ago, and now we are here to enjoy our first white Christmas…. Well, I’m unsure if I can say white Christmas. While we were out and about on Christmas Eve last night, three flakes floated down. We looked up at the sky and begged for more. How stupid we must have looked praying to the snow gods on the fancy Madison Avenue.
It was a really memorable Christmas which started perfectly when my brother Chris skyped from Townsville. Following that, we sat around our little Christmas tree decorated in Christmas card decorations that Mum had designed, and opened our tiny little presents wrapped in the envelopes. Of course we were in our onesies that we had shopped at all stores on the East Coast for. I’ll never forget the shop assistant’s different responses when we would run in and ask if they had onesies: “For children?… oh, for women… yes we do. At least they’re not for males… imagine that, full grown males wearing onesies, that would be funny…”. We blushed and continued to the female intimate apparel sections. My favourite sight was Dad and Dave trying on many XXL female onesies, particularly in the bra sections. Of course after all the effort that went into these outfits, we had to take the family Christmas card shot. In between the Hallmark-happy-ending-Christmas-cheesy- lovestory-back to back movies on Christmas Day, Dave and Mum cooked up a feast, traditional roast turkey with cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and my favourite traffic light jelly that Mum’s made us ever since we were little. Dad and I of course supervised and sipped away on Christmas drinkies. What made this Christmas so perfect was two things, Mum and Dad coming over to spend it with us and skyping family and friends that were in the forefronts of our minds all day. Although we didn’t have our turkey deep fried in dunkin doughnut batter (turdunkin) as many Americans do, and although it didn’t actually snow on Christmas Day, it was a perfect Christmas abroad. It was easy, relaxing and sentimental.

Backing up a night to Christmas Eve, we went for a wander around upper Manhattan. The first stop was to the bustling Times Square. From a distance it lights up the sky with the bright lights of the billboards. You hear of these places around the world, but is it what you’d expect? Well it’s not a square as such but it is bright with an atmosphere, particularly on Christmas Eve. Similar to Times Square is the Rockefeller Centre, which is also not a square shape as I’d expected, but it didn’t disappoint. The famous 25m Christmas tree towers over the ice skating rink with the surrounding trees covered in glittering gold lights sidelined next to the gigantic red bauble Christmas decorations. I’ve seen the Rockefeller Christmas tree (80 year tradition) on all of the New York based Christmas movies and it felt as if we were standing right inside a set.

Mum has a hand written list stuck to the wall with a list of ‘to dos’ while we were here. We have a list on the iPad but she insists there’s something quite satisfying about ticking things off a list. For it to be effective though, it needed to be used in conjunction with an alarm clock so we didn’t get out of bed at morning tea time. After 8 months on the go, it’s been very, very difficult to get the energy to leave our full floor New York loft, for any reason. It’s freezing (zero degrees or colder) outside and it’s warm and cozy inside. It feels like a home environment, with an opportunity to cook vegetables and meat! We can count on one hand the amount of times we’ve (Daves) had the opportunity to cook since leaving home. Restaurants or takeout just aren’t as appealing anymore and seem like a necessity to eat, rather than an enjoyable experience. It was quite evident after wandering the Manhattan streets that there aren’t many supermarkets, only organic overpriced delis. A Google search also confirmed this, saying this issue is the ‘achilles heel’ of the city. The other odd find is their refusal to have any Walmart department stores. This “would bring down their standard and monopolise the little boutiques”. Our primary concern with no Walmart is no grocery shop, which had become handy all the way up the East Coast. We did find ‘one’ alternative. Who would have thought that we would be doing our Christmas food shopping in the grocery section of Harlem’s TARGET?

There’s potentially three ways to see New York City’s islands: by foot, by hop on hop off bus and by sea. We have done all three to ensure we didn’t miss anything.
Firstly was the 3 hour harbour cruise. It took us around the main island of Manhattan, to the Statue of Liberty and under the 20 bridges that join the other 4 boroughs, including Bronx, Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn. It seems as though this city doesn’t value waterfront real estate as much as other cities. It’s very unkept, dirty and a lot is used for industry and car parks. Overall, a great way to get a perspective of the size of the place.
Secondly was the hop on hop off bus tour. Unbelievably the tour bus company opted for placing advertising over every inch of the bus’s windows, making visibility difficult and photos non existent. Only in America would they charge $60 each for this privilege and then expect you to tip every driver and guide as ‘it’s their income’. Tipping of 18-20% is not only expected here, it’s sometimes automaticity added to the bill. It’s slightly understandable as in some states the minimum wage is as low as a few dollars an hour. From a customer’s perspective, the price often doesn’t reflect this. For example, paying a shuttle company for a service and then ‘requesting a tip’ for the driver getting you there. It’s just a different world than what we know. The city does look after those who are in financial need however. A family on 50k or less can rent certain apartments for $800pm whereas anyone else would pay $4,000pm.

“Odd fact about USA history #90: according to our tour guide, a split decision, with just one vote in it, made English the country’s national language, over German. The same goes for the national bird. One vote proclaimed the eagle as the winner over the turkey, which became dinner. “

Our final mode for sightseeing was a free walking tour around Downtown Manhattan, including Wall Street and the World Trade Centre (WTC). Firstly, Wall Street wasn’t at all what we had expected. The New York Stock Exchange only operates with traders on the floor for the first and last hours of each day, purely for the TV. The rest of the time, trading operates over computers. After 9/11, most of the main computers have been moved out of Wall Street and to the state of New Jersey to limit the risk, should NYC ever come under attack again. NYC is the world’s banking, financial and entertainment capital, so I guess they have to be careful. So much so, any cars driving on Wall Street must drive on to a ramp like barrier with sniffer dogs and undergo a full security check for explosives. The events of September 11 altered the world, but also made the USA far more vigilant. It was a rather surreal feeling in the surrounding sites of that day, as much as it was visiting ‘Ground Zero’. A little old church with a graveyard is the island’s oldest landmark. Although completely covered in debris at the time, it was used as a shelter for rescue workers. We stood in those grounds today, facing towards the former WTC complex, and took in the effect it would have had on all those around the area at the time. One of the buildings has been rebuilt with the other 4 under construction or not yet built. What’s evident, when standing at a distance, was how gigantic these towers would have been. Now, all that can be seen is a huge empty space in the jam-packed skyline. Before the former World Trad
e Centre (the first one) was even built, once stood an area for Muslims with mosques and markets. The architect that was selected to design the World Trade Centre had previously designed the Sudan airport. He incorporated the same Moslem designs onto the facade of the towers, as he did the airport. We didn’t realise this but the WTC first came under ‘minor’ attack in 1993. Back then, Bin Laden condemned the Muslim designs used in a commercial building any other symbolic reasoning. Decades later, only memories of an event that changed the world as we knew it remain. An area that was once the WTC, became Ground Zero and is now the 9/11 Memorial. To get in to the grounds requires a number of security checks, but is well worth it. The 9/11 Memorial features two enormous waterfalls surrounding the reflecting pools. Each is about an acre in size. The names of the nearly 3,000 men, women, and children killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993, are inscribed into bronze edging surrounding the 9/11 Memorial’s twin pools, set within the footprints of the original twin towers. More than 400 trees are planted in the plaza and its design conveys a spirit of hope and renewal.

The New Yorrrkers, with their hot ‘dWogs’, are a unique bunch. They definitely are a culture in themselves, very hip, very cosmopolitan with a mix of ‘rough and ready’. NYC is also a city that comes with a lot of hype. This hype is accurate if you’re a big city person. After finishing the last of the world’s ‘Big 5′ cities we’ve decided that the only Big 5 we like, are the kind with 4 legs roaming Africa. Since travelling, little townships are the preference over the bigger cities as they are often more intimate over an impersonal rat race. Summing it up, Dad and I didn’t much care for NYC at all and Mum and Dave are more towards the fact it’s just a city. What we did agree on, is it’d be a completely different feeling in the spring. Without the snow, winter in New York is cold with brown trees creating a somber mood. The motivation levels are at rock bottom and the desire for a virtual Sunday week has rocketed. Mum and I have used this quiet time in the loft to review some of the earlier blogs, written when we were just starting out in Asia. The things that we used to notice on the street, such as people’s characteristics and the small details are becoming far less noticeable, the further in to this trip we go. Blasé maybe. Dad said to me, why don’t we stop and look around at the everyday little things and if we did that, we’d probably notice more – regardless of where we are. New York certainly has it’s own culture. New York has a diversity in people, where personalities shine through in everyday interactions. The colourful street vendors selling food are our favourite. They’re genuine, good people and they’re just trying to make a living selling street food like hot dogs and pretzels. Although I don’t love the street food offered, we spent the time chatting to them about their lives. The other colourful, super helpful characters were the retail vendors. At random times and places they set up ’30 minute’ stalls, often consisting of: a few coat hangers on a rack with $20 jackets, boxes with $3 jumpers or handbags spread out on a cloth on the footpath. Unfortunately for us, not all types of street vendors were the good guys. We were scammed at least 4 times over the week. Street salesman selling tickets to shows, NYC passes, hop on hop off buses for example, sold us anything to get their cut. It is an expensive place to have trusted them and then been ripped off. More importantly, those frequent events left a sour taste.
The other observation was the amount of people, everywhere. Only 1.5m live on the island of Manhattan, but a staggering 3.5m are there for work and holidays everyday. We are only seeing NYC through the eyes of the winter holiday season. The city’s busiest season. There are too many people. The roads are as busy as India but the locals aren’t as courteous. You can tell a lot about a beep of a horn. Both India and NYC have this ongoing irritating sound, yet the sound of a beep can mean different things in different places. Shell we say that here, waiting and patience isn’t their strongest point. This is demonstrated by the use of pedestrian and traffic management controlling the chaos, even when they have perfectly good, working traffic lights. The excessive amounts of people everywhere quadruples the prices. A $60 show in West End London for example, cost $400 here on Broadway this week. Queues to get in to most attractions are over 2 hours long with every tourist working their way through NYC’s big ticket items. We’re not ones to see a place just because it’s the ‘thing to do’. For this reason we boycotted the underwhelming Empire State Building and couldn’t get tickets to climb Statue of Liberty’s crown. Blasphemy, coming to NYC and not doing that! We did however, take the advice from friends who said to see New York’s skyline from the Rockefeller Centre – that was worth every cent! You can truly get an appreciation for the city’s size and layout from up there, not to mention the size of Central Park in comparison to the rest of the island. Dad and I think NYC’s most beautiful building is the 5th Avenue Apple store. A masterpiece consisting of a giant glass cube entranceway, a staggering glass staircase and a moving glass cylinder lift.
Another beauty, between the boring brown high rises, is the 830 acres of manmade Central Park. Many cities throughout this world have a ‘horse drawn carriage experience’. We saved this experience for Central Park. Firstly, we walked around the park to really see it properly. The overpriced carriage ride, $60 for 15 minutes, doesn’t actually go through the park, like you can on foot. In our black carriage with matching horse, along with the other 67 in the park, we took the tour past the famous monuments and sites. It was worth the wait.

It’s funny when you picture something to be in your head, but when getting there it’s nothing like expected. I had the impression that Broadway was a little street with a half dozen theatres and boutiquey restaurants. Not even ow! It’s one of the world’s longest streets, stretching all the way from Manhattan Island to Canada. It’s not called Broadway the whole way, but it is the same street nonetheless. There are actually only 4 theatres on Broadway itself with 36 more in the surrounding streets of the Broadway Theatre District. Dave loves his musicals. With the money saved by not going to NYC’s other big ticket items that weren’t of interest, we booked tickets to the Broadway musical, Chicago in the Ambassador theatre. He said he enjoyed it but preferred the movie. Yet again, I slept through. I think he needs another wife for musicals or maybe a musical wife!

For years, our plan was to be in Times Square for New Year’s Eve. When it came to deciding, now that we were actually here, it was questionable whether or not to attend. That’s because we didn’t realise what was involved. We decided however, that it was a once in a lifetime experience. At 11am (yes, that’s in the morning) we set out for Times Square. I was dressed in: a hat, ear muffs, merino singlet, 2 thermal tops, woolly jumper, 2 jackets, stockings, thermal pants, trousers, mittens and boots. Before arriving into the madness we had to stop off for two all important things: lunch and toilet. That wouldn’t be possible again for over 13 hours! We were told to arrive at around lunchtime to get a good spot. We found ourselves getting herded into Times Square and in through the barricades for a NYPD search and explosive check. We were thankful that this check happened to everyone before getting placed in a pen. Once that pen, of a few hundred people, was full they shut the gates and started filling up the next one. From I2 pm until 12am, it was a battle of the strongest. If you left, you couldn’t get back in. The issue with that was dehydration. Most people wouldn’t have had anything to drink for over 24 hours, in fear of needing to go to the toilet. Between 12pm and 6pm
, we became friendly with our pen buddies, people we were squished against. My first attempt at conversation was with a girl from Oklahoma. l said to her she was from the same state as Hanson, you know Mmmbop? She blankly looked at me and said “I’m only 17, I don’t know who that is”. Gobsmacked, I responded, “back in my day, they were the coolest band”. (Dave shrunk out of sight in embarrassment). She was just too young and I was sounding just too old. She ended up leaving by 6pm as she couldn’t handle the cold. They just don’t make them like they used to! We needed new ‘pen friends’ otherwise it was to be a long night ahead. We met 2 Aussies, a South African and a New Yorker who had been coming to Time Square for 25 years! (They, by the way, knew who Hanson was). At 6pm we had talked about everything we possibly could. It was a long time to be standing in one place. Pizza was delivered to those who wanted to pay $20 for a margarita but the highlight of that long wait was it SNOWED! Even if it wasn’t much, it was magical.
At 6pm, the party had finally begun. Over the next 6 hours, on the hour, fireworks marked a countdown to how many hours before the clock struck midnight. To pass the time, free stuff was handed out to every single, freezing cold, person there. We all got a hat, balloon and streamers as well as Nivea lip products and Spider-Man gloves (main sponsors). Singers performed every hour including Blondie, Macklemore and Miley Cyrus. That moment that we had all been waiting for had come and we were in the prime location to see it. The Times Square ball began to drop as we all started the count down to 2014 and to the midnight kiss. When the clock struck midnight, the fireworks and music began and the one ton of confetti fell. It was a once in a lifetime experience (meaning we don’t have the patience to do it again). It was well and truly worth the 12 hour lead up. I’d like to say that the midnight kiss was the reason I missed the ball drop but it was because I was recording the excitement. Getting home wasn’t as bad as expected. Crowd controlling one million people on to the subways worked. We were home an hour later, out of the minus three degree temperatures and in bed with a Coke. Not surprisingly, Coke had the biggest advertising billboard and taunted us for over the 12 hours.
This was the fantastic, epic New Year’s Eve of 2014.

On the second to last night in NYC, our flight was cancelled for the following day, the same day as we were to say goodbye to Mum and Dad. When that morning came, to farewell them a safe journey for their upcoming Canadian train trip, the tears started. Then, after 2 months by our side, Mum and Dad were gone. Fortunately, as soon as the backpacks were on, our mojo returned. We were ready to get back in to this and continue the last 4 months of our adventures. We had taken these last few weeks in NYC with Mum and Dad as a break from 8 months on the road. It was indescribable how much it meant to me that they had came to visit us and to take the time for a quality holiday together. In the last two months we’ve cruised, road tripped and relaxed NYC style together. Our standout moments were when it started to snow in Amish country, cruising, driving through Maine, Niagara Falls, Christmas Day and NYE Times Square. My personal favourites weren’t what we saw but the little things like dancing with Dad to Caribbean music on the ship’s deck and morning coffees with Mum in bed.
I remember the first moment we saw them in Fort Lauderdale, like it was yesterday but today it was sad to see them leave. Nine hours after saying goodbye and checking in to our new hotel for the night, we find out their flight is also cancelled and they are staying just down the road from us. The odds of all of those elements aligning was pretty unbelievable. Shortly after, we were hugging again, followed by smiles and wine. We had one of the best nights on this trip. Mum and Dad took us out to an outstanding restaurant and stocked our bellies up with 4 months worth or meat and vegetables. It certainly beat the jam sams we were going to have in our tiny 1.7 x 1.7m hotel box that evening. We came to NYC for a white Christmas but with only a few flakes received, we were left rather disappointed. On our ‘second chance’ night, it snowed so much, they called it a blizzard. We would say it snowed enough to make everything a foot deep but wouldn’t say it justified closing down the ice skating rink in Central Park. The four of us walked around the park and marvelled in its beauty. The white topping made every scene magical and ended our holiday on a high. There were no tears this time or leaving on sad moments. I’ll miss them but am ready to get back to it with Dave and live these last four months up, just like we had done over the first eight.

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New London, CT

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Provincetown, MA

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Portland, ME

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Portsmouth, NH

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