States Visited: 24
California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado
New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire
Maine, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia
Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland, Utah, Arizona, Nevada
Shortest time spent in a state: West Virginia - about 15mins (including a toilet stop). The highway we were travelling on just happened to cut across the bottom corner of the state!
Longest time spent in a state: California - 12 days (8 days at the beginning, 4 days at the end)
Cost of Fuel
Overall very inexpensive, you can see now why the Americans all drive such huge "gas guzzlers"
Cheapest: $2.64 per gallon (69.5c per litre) in Utah
Most Expensive: $3.28 per gallon (86.3c per litre) in California
Interestingly, the fuel prices are very stable here. They fluctuate from state to state (depending on how each state taxes fuel) but they don't go up and down on a daily basis like in Australia.
Also, even remote places seem to enjoy the same fuel prices as the bigger cities in the same state.
Strange Fashion:
The American's seem to have an unhealthy love of UGG boots! We all love our uggies to keep our feet warm - AT HOME! but they are all the rage here, especially for girls. They wear them everywhere from the beach to the movies to restaurants. And if you haven't got a pair you're daggy. Go figure.
Favourite Places:
Michael - I find it impossible to select one place that shone above the rest in our trip. So many places were amazing in different ways. The population is spread across the country far more evenly than in Australia, and what seems like an abundant supply of water makes this possible. The west coast of America is going to have serious water problems, however a shift in use/wastage might just help as it did in Australia. The largest surprises for me were that Vegas was actually better than I expected, and that Yosemmiti was still (almost) as pristine as I imagined it when I was a child. I will spend the next 10 - 15 years dreaming of doing the RV thing with Leah in our retirement years.
Leah - the whole trip was amazing, but these are the standouts: Yosemite for the sheer spectacular-ness of the place. Seattle - a nice city located on the water, close to the mountains, with great markets, not too busy and a with really nice vibe. Seeing the fall colours in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Natasha - Yosemite because there were lots of squirrels, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountains, (and all the other National parks), Vermont because I got my teddy bear there at the Teddy Bear Factory, Niagara Falls because the Horseshoe Falls was big and it circled all around you and we went to Canada, Washington DC because I liked the White House, Mt Washington (New Hampshire) because we saw snow! Las Vegas because we got to see a circus and the strip was all covered with lights, the Grand Canyon because we went on a helicopter ride, Monterey because its near the beach and there is a big aquarium.
Abbey - Vermont because there were lots of beautiful things and I got a Teddy Bear at the Teddy Bear Factory, and we went to Ben and Jerry's and a Maple syrup farm and Cabot's cheese factory, Halloween Trick-or-Treating, Yellowstone because there were lots of chatty people, the helicopter ride in the Grand Canyon, Circus Circus in Las Vegas because we won toys and there was a circus, Mt Washington because there was snow, Niagara Falls because we went to Canada and there was a big ferris wheel.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Back to the West Coast
We left Vegas and the desert behind and headed back to the California coast. After an overnight stop in Santa Barbara, a nice little seaside city (and I'm happy to report doesn't look anything like the daytime soapie) we headed up along El Camino Real (the Royal Road) and followed the coast all the way up to Monterey. The road is part of a 600 mile trail that was originally used to connect the missions along the coast. The coastline was spectacular, although mainly rocky with only small beaches.
We came across a colony of Elephant seals that live along one of the beaches and stayed a while to watch them.
The aquarium at Monterey had come highly recommended to us, and we really enjoyed our visit there. As well as the usual aquarium displays we also saw sea otters and pink flamingoes. The girls loved the touch tanks too.
We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the bay and then spent the afternoon at the beach.
Sadly now, our adventure is coming to an end. Today (Friday here) we are slowly making our way back to San Francisco for the flight home tonight.
We have all had an awesome time and hope everyone at home has enjoyed the taste of what we have been doing. There are many more stories to tell when we get home!
The aquarium at Monterey had come highly recommended to us, and we really enjoyed our visit there. As well as the usual aquarium displays we also saw sea otters and pink flamingoes. The girls loved the touch tanks too.
We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the bay and then spent the afternoon at the beach.
Sadly now, our adventure is coming to an end. Today (Friday here) we are slowly making our way back to San Francisco for the flight home tonight.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Viva Las Vegas
8th - 9th November, 2010
Leaving the Grand Canyon we travelled through more of Arizona towards Las Vegas. We stopped to see Hoover Dam, which is one of America's largest security risks because it is the main water supply for most of California, Nevada and Utah as well as some of the other states . Cars were stopped by security before entering the area and there were police hovering around everywhere. The dam wall is huge, and although the water levels in the lake were quite low, there was still a lot of water in there.
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| Hoover Dam |
Our trip to Vegas was short, but we had promised the girls that we would go to Circus Circus where they could see the circus and spend some time on the rides in the Adventuredome. We arrived late afternoon and went straight to see the circus acts. The acts only ran for about 10mins each, with shows every 45mins, with different performers each time. Of course to fill in your time in between there was an amusement area, much like sideshow alley at the show. We played a few times and the girls both won some stuffed toys so they were thrilled!
After dinner we drove up and down "The Strip" a couple of times to see the lights, the crowds and all the different casinos. Wow, the casinos certainly are the winners here. Lavish is an understatement for some of these places. Everything from the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triumph at 'Paris' to the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State and Chrysler buildings at 'New York', a massive castle called 'Excalibur' as well as the well known ones like MGM Grand, The Venetian complete with canals and bridges to the very plush Bellagio and the enormous Caesar's Palace, with its own Colosseum of course. There was even a pirate ship at Treasure Island.
The girls were up early ready for the Adventuredome. There was all sorts of rides including a rollercoaster and a 4D Sponge Bob movie that the girls loved. After a couple of hours we eventually dragged them away!
The Grand Canyon
We flew out of DC (actually Baltimore airport in Maryland) back into Denver. The weather was much clearer than last time we were here so we had a beautiful view of the snow-capped Rockies. We were headed for the Grand Canyon and the drive took us through the Colorado snow fields and we passed some well known places such as Aspen and Vail. Ski season had started so we watched some skiers and snowboarders going down the slopes. Next we entered into Utah and headed south towards Monument Valley, at the border of Arizona. Some very interesting landscape formations along the way and we were looking out for Roadrunner and Coyote as we drove.
We arrived at the Grand Canyon and our first views didn't disappoint us. The canyon is massive and no photos could possibly capture the size of it. The layers of the canyon walls have many colours and patterns that seem to be ever changing in different light. We took some snacks to the rim and watched the sunset.
The IMAX movie gave us a greater appreciation of the life inside the canyon. From the top it looks rather dead and dry, but down below in the shadows there are little mossy waterfalls and animals that you just wouldn't think would be there.
Next morning was the much awaited helicopter flight over the canyon. Because of the high winds, we had to take a shorter flight, but what we saw was spectacular. We flew from the south rim across to the north rim (about 18miles at the widest part) and got to see the canyon walls close up, as well as getting a birds eye view right down to the bottom where the river wound its way through.
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| Heading into Monument Valley |
We arrived at the Grand Canyon and our first views didn't disappoint us. The canyon is massive and no photos could possibly capture the size of it. The layers of the canyon walls have many colours and patterns that seem to be ever changing in different light. We took some snacks to the rim and watched the sunset.
The IMAX movie gave us a greater appreciation of the life inside the canyon. From the top it looks rather dead and dry, but down below in the shadows there are little mossy waterfalls and animals that you just wouldn't think would be there.
Next morning was the much awaited helicopter flight over the canyon. Because of the high winds, we had to take a shorter flight, but what we saw was spectacular. We flew from the south rim across to the north rim (about 18miles at the widest part) and got to see the canyon walls close up, as well as getting a birds eye view right down to the bottom where the river wound its way through.
Washington DC
3rd - 5th November, 2010
After arriving at our hotel we took the hire car back to the airport. We caught the metro train back to DuPont Circle, right near our hotel. The train was full of Washinton Capitals (ice hockey) fans. The Americans sure do love their sports.
We only had two days in DC and as the first morning it was pouring rain we decided to go and see some of the Smithsonian Museums. We went to the Air and Space Museum and saw the Wright brothers plane, Amelia Aerhart's flying gear, replicas of the Hubble telescope and moon space landing module as well as loads of aircraft and rockets and memorabilia such as uniforms the airline attendants wore through the ages.
From there we went next door (it was still raining) to the Museum of the American Indian. There were some interesting artefacts and traditional costumes as well as a large display of how Native American culture tries to survive in the modern day.
The next day the weather had improved and we set off intending to catch one of the hop on - hop off tour buses. We passed by the White House and then while we were waiting at the bus stop a private guide pulled up in his car and although we we a bit sceptical at first, he convinced us to go with him and it turned out to be great.
He took us around all the major sites, including some we weren't planning on seeing. We visited Arlington cemetery, Capitol Hill, the Washington Monument, Lincoln and Roosevelt memorials.
We ended the day with a visit to the top of the Old Post Office clock tower for views over the city and then went to the Museum of American History. Here we saw pop-culture things like Dorothy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz, Fonzie's Leather Jacket and Kermit the Frog, as well as the original Stars and Stripes flag, made in 1836, Edison's light bulb and the Model T Ford.
After arriving at our hotel we took the hire car back to the airport. We caught the metro train back to DuPont Circle, right near our hotel. The train was full of Washinton Capitals (ice hockey) fans. The Americans sure do love their sports.
We only had two days in DC and as the first morning it was pouring rain we decided to go and see some of the Smithsonian Museums. We went to the Air and Space Museum and saw the Wright brothers plane, Amelia Aerhart's flying gear, replicas of the Hubble telescope and moon space landing module as well as loads of aircraft and rockets and memorabilia such as uniforms the airline attendants wore through the ages.
The next day the weather had improved and we set off intending to catch one of the hop on - hop off tour buses. We passed by the White House and then while we were waiting at the bus stop a private guide pulled up in his car and although we we a bit sceptical at first, he convinced us to go with him and it turned out to be great.
He took us around all the major sites, including some we weren't planning on seeing. We visited Arlington cemetery, Capitol Hill, the Washington Monument, Lincoln and Roosevelt memorials.
We ended the day with a visit to the top of the Old Post Office clock tower for views over the city and then went to the Museum of American History. Here we saw pop-culture things like Dorothy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz, Fonzie's Leather Jacket and Kermit the Frog, as well as the original Stars and Stripes flag, made in 1836, Edison's light bulb and the Model T Ford.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Virginia
1st - 3rd November, 2010
We continued north through Shenandoah National Park along the Skyline Drive, stopping to walk a couple of the trails along the way. They were only short trails, about 3km, but we were surprised that Dizzy Legs never commented about how far it was. We figured it was because there was a bit of climbing up and down rocks that made it fun, but later when asked she said "well my legs were dizzy, but I was just being grown up and only saying it in my head", followed by "it was really fun". Go figure.
After leaving Shenandoah we visited Manassus, really only as an overnight stop, but found out it was the site of one of the battles during the Civil War. Ironic that there are acres and acres of preserved land to commemorate the site of such a bloody battle that is now such a peaceful place in the middle of a city.
We had some time to fill in before we were due to arrive in Washington DC so we also visited Fredericksburg, the place where George Washington grew up and Great Falls National Park. In summer these falls attract lots of thrill seeking kayakers that hurtle themselves down the rapids.
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| Great views along the Bear Fence trail. |
After leaving Shenandoah we visited Manassus, really only as an overnight stop, but found out it was the site of one of the battles during the Civil War. Ironic that there are acres and acres of preserved land to commemorate the site of such a bloody battle that is now such a peaceful place in the middle of a city.
We had some time to fill in before we were due to arrive in Washington DC so we also visited Fredericksburg, the place where George Washington grew up and Great Falls National Park. In summer these falls attract lots of thrill seeking kayakers that hurtle themselves down the rapids.
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| Great falls, Virginia |
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Halloween
31st October, 2010
We left Charlottesville and travelled along the very scenic Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park. The trees still had their coloured leaves and the views from the overlooks along the way were spectacular.
We left the national park to stay in Harrisburg, a nearby town so that we could go Trick or Treating. We had costumes and Natasha and Abbey had been looking forward to it for a while. The hotel receptionist gave us directions of a good place to go so off we went.
Halloween is a huge tradition here. Almost every house has some kind of decoration ranging from a pumpkin on the front step to all-out displays complete with inflatable black cats and ghosts on strings, sound effects and of course kids that jump out of behind things to scare you. Its kind of like the displays you see when you go to see the Christmas lights at home. Christmas here must be huge!
The girls had a ball and managed to collect a bucket full of candy. It doesn't get much better than that!!
We left Charlottesville and travelled along the very scenic Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park. The trees still had their coloured leaves and the views from the overlooks along the way were spectacular.
We left the national park to stay in Harrisburg, a nearby town so that we could go Trick or Treating. We had costumes and Natasha and Abbey had been looking forward to it for a while. The hotel receptionist gave us directions of a good place to go so off we went.
Halloween is a huge tradition here. Almost every house has some kind of decoration ranging from a pumpkin on the front step to all-out displays complete with inflatable black cats and ghosts on strings, sound effects and of course kids that jump out of behind things to scare you. Its kind of like the displays you see when you go to see the Christmas lights at home. Christmas here must be huge!The girls had a ball and managed to collect a bucket full of candy. It doesn't get much better than that!!
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