"So what did you think of USA? Rubbish!"
Lima, Peru, I am here. Now the fun begins. But first, i would like to sum up the great land of America. I said above that it was rubbish. What was rubbish was the way i did it me thinks. Simply put, if you want to see AND enjoy America the way to do it is roadtrip! I did Greyhound, and that was my m...
Bye bye USA
After staying in Panama City for four days, I left and spent the next three days on greyhound, in a very round about way of getting to Atlanta. Via Houston and Dallas. Just as we left Dallas, it got black. Then the rumbling of thunder. Then rain. For the next FIVE hours on the bus, we were surrounde...
New Orleans
Booked my flight to Peru this morning. Flying out of Atlanta on the 16th to Lima. Cost, $58! Have two weeks until then, so have one last place to visit - New Orleans! Yeah baby. Good food, good music. This might sound strange, but this place and it's houses, like the one above, has been in my dreams...
Cape Canaveral
So here I am, my long thirty year dream of seeing a rocket launch is almost at hand! Welcome to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex! Queuing already! It is launch day, so I expect it to be packed. Bit overcast at the moment, but clearing up later. First thing you see when you get in is the Rock...
Titusville
Titusville. I am liking that name. Titus, as in Titan, not tit. Reception made me wait before check in, so went to Maccys over the road. [youtube=GWe1VTfeQ8g] Thats my hotel in red in the middle. Checked in at two. Room on second floor. Ok, wait, enough!!! Second floor. No, no, no! First floor! Datu...
West is best!
Left Orlando this morning and headed down the West coast of Florida. Beautiful start to the day! Wow, what a difference. This seems, i dont how to say, more natural. And when i got down to Tampa and over the bay! OMG. Just seemed more natural. Just wished i had some decent pics and vids. One thing a...
Miami
Damn, its hot. Currently 30c today. On bus heading down to Miami. [youtube=Gb0nMCyG2Kw] Just outside Orlando is a town called Titusville. The Greyhound stops here, and its only ten miles from Cape Canaveral! That saves the ball ache of how i was going to get to the Cape with my foot. Maybe a hotel h...
The inevitable Surprise Surprise!
Yes, it's that point where my trip goes AWOL. First off, during the celebrations of us winning the Superbowl (fuck yeah!), I stubbed my toe on the corner of the bed. Whats more, i broke it. Semi lol. Had to book another few nights in hotel to give it a rest. Although it is getting better, after five...
Flo rida
Finally, got to Florida, but i only went as far as Orlando. Like i said earlier, i did not fancy getting into Miami at half two in the morning and wandering around again for another eleven hours. Opted for hotel for three nights and catch up on sleep, chill, shop, and watch Superbowl!! Its half twel...
One helluva night!
Thursday started off so well. Woke up in Indianapolis hotel and had breakfast. Managed to top up my wifi hotspot so didn't have to go to t mobile in the end. Walked to the bus station which took all of four minutes. Got on bus/coach, and i was on my way to Cincinnati. Then the change there for Atlan...
Goddamn Belton!!
Here we are again. Got as far as Cincinnati and the second connection bus is late. Which means (looking at ETA) that I will miss my connection to Miami!!
What day is it?
Alexa, what day is it? "Today is Wednesday". Oh, ok. So i head out on the bus, sorry, coach tommorow to Miami. That means i get down there on Friday. Ok. The date i got. Why? Because its Superbowl Sunday on 13th. Question, do i stay in Miami before i move on to Homestead?
WEATHER WARNING!!
The entire East Coast got hit on Saturday, with hurricane winds and two feet of snow. This storm heads inland and should hit central about Wednesday and Thursday. [youtube=qwlu5gFh2yg] So in short, i aint going anywhere! Cant go East as that would be madness. Going West would just feel like going ba...
How am i doing?
So far, not to bad. But i did notice something the other night that i never noticed before. Whether it has just physically manifested or not is unknown, but it is here. In waiting for the bus from Roswell, at six in the evening, the temperature dropped and my hands (as always the first to go) got co...
Amarillo
Got in hotel at 1am. Had no sleep for two days, so ordering a couple bits from Walmart for delivery today, and bed. Nice room, huge bed again. And i was able to get a smoking room. Later, im planning the third leg, which ends at Cape Canaveral. XXX
Roswell
Welcome, to the Twilight Zone. Driving in, this town has EVERY shop i can think of! Its mad. Modernization i guess. Then you get to the town centre, and that was more like it. Everywhere i looked, most shops had an alien theme to it. From Pizza... To buses... Quite funny really. Even found this lead...
Albuquerque
Got here at half seven in the morning. Thought it was going to be later as we got caught in a blizzard just past Gallup! Both sides of the road just stopped dead, like they couldn't handle the snow. After about half an hour, we were on our way again. Had a wander around the city for most of the morn...
End of Leg One, begin Leg Two
That's it then. End of the first leg. So, mush on to the second leg. This one is a very short leg in comparison. The second place to visit is... Roswell. Early start tommorow so thought i would start this post off early. Leave here at half one tommorow morning, and get into Albuquerque at half seven...
THE GRAND CANYON
So, the first leg of my USA trip is at an end. And what a place to end it. The Grand Canyon is a mile deep, 277 miles long and 18 miles wide. While the park doesn't include the entire canyon, it does measure in at a whopping 1,904 square miles in total. And its highest point of elevation is 6,804...
Flagstaff
Slept well, surprise. Woke up to clear blue skies. Room is cozy. And thats a king size bed. Dude, its huge. Had to roll over six times to get out of it! Decided ive got a few things to do today. Put my laundry in to be done, so thats sorted. And looking at my next leg of the journey lastnight, a few...
Salt Lake City to Flagstaff
That, was one long ass bus trip! 28 hours. And another three states. Just past St George i entered... Arizona. Wasnt in there long before i entered... [youtube=Y5NjQSOPX1c] [youtube=L9gRRk3xn1M] Got to Las Vegas just before dusk but didnt get to see much. But i was able to catch this shot. Las Vegas...
Backpacking Part 2 - what goes in the pack
What's the first thing i buy that goes in my pack on my travels? Always?! I will let you ponder that whilst i tell you the other essentials. Secondly, is a second set of clothes. Trousers, shirt and socks. If you get wet through and are in the middle of nowhere, once you found shelter and dried off,...
Calendar
https://1drv.ms/x/s!AstR9hmJTxfvgQTOZEKHR0EHaZdK My rough guide to my america trip. Updated as i go
Backpacking Part 1 - the backpack
So, i have finally got around to ditching the rucksack. I have been literally all over the world, and around most of England. The backpack is a very personal and individualised item. It depends on a lot of things: what country you are in, what and how you are travelling, what you need to carry with...
Utah State Capitol
Cracking start. McDonalds restaurant shut, drive thru only. 🖕 So, got as far as the Utah State Capitol after a forty minute walk up the hill before the lack of breakfast kicked in. And saw how far i had to go. If you zoom in at the top of that 'mound' you can just make out the Ensign Peak tower. Ye...
Ensign Peak
Gonna take a walk up to Ensign Peak today. Its up in the hills and apparently you can get a view over all Salt Lake City. About an hour and a half to get there. Via McDonalds for breakfast me thinks.
Burger King
Had my first american Burger King today. Sat down and ordered large Double Whopper meal. $11. And you know what, it came pretty much like the photo! At 2,000 calories, thats me pretty much sorted for the day! And when they say pickles, they mean jalapenos! Awesome! This thing is huge. Im not sure ho...
Go Rams!!
I was even to stream most of the game on the bus. Soon be Superbowl. And, im in America. The final is in California. And i'll be in a pub. Sorry, bar!
US States
That's four states i've been through already. Wonder how many i manage?
Salt Lake City
Well, got here. Three and a half hours late, but like i said, didn't bother me what time we got here. Shattered. Can never sleep in transport, whether it's planes trains or automobiles, so been a long night. And was getting a bit worried as all night all i saw out the window was snow again. When we...
Greyhound
Well, it's quarter past two in the morning. Three hours behind schedule. At this rate, the driver will have to wait until daylight before moving on. Can't blame him though. Not his fault...
Breakdown
Lol. Got to Boise about quarter past ten pm. They cleaned the bus and changed drivers. Supposed to leave at 11pm, but one of the headlights isn't working so been waiting for repairman to come and fix it. It's now 12:30am, and no sign of the repairman! Suits me, the longer the better. Supposed to get...
Yakima to Salt Lake City
Well, finally got out of Yakima. In Stanfield at the moment. And YES, NO FUCKING SIGN OF SNOW!! If i never see snow again it won't be too soon!
Walking
So i have been mapping out my journey in the US, places i want to go and sights i want to see. Several bus journeys with days between each to allow me to go walkabout and explore. Sounds cool. So looked at my first gap between bus journeys, between Salt Lake City and Flagstaff. Figured i would take...
UK vs USA
Compared the UK KFC to the American. This is our ten piece family feast This is theirs... Woah. And check this out... [youtube=-lkCsKXAxfo]
Hungry
Time for McDelivery!
In the meantime...
I mean, come on! Look at the weather now. Supposed to be like this for next few days. I bloody well hope so, for my busses sake (and my sanity). Oh well. Gave me a chance to finish off my rough travel map. Grand Canyon, Roswell, Mississippi, Cape Canaveral, New Orleans, and Houston Texas. Should kee...
Surprise surprise surprise
Woke up this morning and looked out the motel window. Doesn't look like we had any rain last night. Then I checked online to see if my bus was running. Surprise, cancelled. Well, the first LEG to Stanfield is, the second leg to Denver is running. FFS! So, rebooked first leg only. Troubles is, it's n...
Bali Hai
It's seven in the evening, and fair play to the manager, he has been clearing the snow for four hours now. Before... And after... What a guy! Also, discovered that Bali Hai is either a mystical island in the South Pacific, as in the film. Which I like. Or Bali Hai is the name of a mixed drink that o...
Bali Motel
Evergreen...Yeah, right.
Bali Hai Motel
Finally managed to book a bus ticket to Denver. Earliest is Friday, so added another day here. No point moving hotel. Got my first McDelivery today! Classic Cheeseburger Pack for $18. Two cheeseburgers, 20 McNuggets and two medium fries! SWEEEET!! And about three hours ago, snowing again. Here till...
Lmuma Creek Recreation Site
Well, that was a cold bloody night. -11c!! Fortunately the toilet blocks were unlocked so was able to get warmer. Still didn't get much sleep. Plus there were trains running all night. They were HUGE. They took like two minutes to pass. Saw the lights of the cabs, I would say they were forty carriag...
Motel 6
Happy New Year UK!! Eight hours to go for me but you wouldn't think it. Fireworks going off already. Me, I'm in with a six pack. My first ever six pack. Couldn't find Stella, but took a gamble on something called Rainier. And very nice it is too. Reminds me of Red Stripe. Originally brewed in Seattl...
Seattle to Ellensburg
In Motel 6, Ellensburg. Now THIS is like the motels you see in the films. Cool. Trouble is, most of these motels I normally see in horror films! The bus journey in was insane. Snow everywhere. And the bus drove through the mountains. Saw ski slopes and people actually skiing! Wow. [youtube=OQ9WiEMd4...
Rodeway Inn last day
Booked a bus to Ellensburg. Seemed a good enough place as any. About 100 miles east. $40. Leaves from the airport at about ten am. Still snowing. Apparently, they haven't had snow on xmas day and like this since 2008. Lucky me x
Rodeway Inn
Merry Christmas everyone. And yes, it is snowing. On xmas day! I mean proper snow! I haven't seen this since I was a kid. So happy x
Rodeway Inn Seattle
Hi all. Just kinda sunk in that I'm in America! America dudes and dudettes. The land of the free. And I, am, FREE! Bit of shopping to do today as I only brought over a few essentials. Rucksack, cooking stove, poncho etc. X
Seattle
Made it!! Finally got here. Got pulled into security at airport lol. Guess they didn't like my reason for visiting, or that someone would actually walk through america. Surprised to find that hotel sent a shuttle transfer. Coolbeans. Settled in hotel. Nice room. Spacious and although a bit mishmash...